Darkness and Memories
by Sanluris
Summary: Main story to Darkness and Truth; PMD Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky. Gale woke up as a Treecko in a strange world, with no memories of his human life, and possessing a mysterious ability to glimpse past or future events. After a Squirtle named Shiloh takes Gale to Wigglytuff's Guild, the two find adventure and danger on explorations while learning about Gale through his visions.
1. Entry

**Okay, finally we see what Pokémon Gale turns into! I'm excited! I can't believe it's only been a couple chapters. I crammed a lot of stuff into them, but I'm going to shorten the chapters from now on, since I think the last one was a little too long. I tried to mention interesting stuff about Gale and Grovyle while trying to keep the paragraphs organized. I can go off and talk about random things a lot though, so I tried to work hard to make the things I wrote stay in order. I'm going to keep working on that in future chapters.**

**Anyway, here we go! I don't own ****Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, or anything else from the series. I only own my characters, the human ones anyway...the Pokémon don't belong to me. Thank you for reading!**

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My eyes slowly lifted open, and I had the uncomfortably painful feeling of something hot scorching my back. I realized that my face was pressed into a mass of gritty particles, like dirt or sand, and I wanted to move and get out of it but even though I was lying down I felt too exhausted to even get up. I dragged my arms towards my head a bit, and just that small movement made me groan with pain. Something bad had happened to me, but I was too tired to try and remember what just now. I had barely opened my eyes when I felt them slip shut again, and I somehow found the strength to curl up tightly before I dozed off.

The next time I opened my eyes, the warmth against my back was a little cooler, and I managed to roll over only to get a flash of sunlight in my eyes. Quickly I turned over and rubbed at my eyes. The pain in my body was a little better, now; I could at least move. I realized that I had been lying in sand, and I glanced around. The beach front around me was tinted pinkish-red by the sunset. I tried to push myself upright, but my arms quaked and gave out, causing me to face-plant into the hot sand again. I groaned and rolled onto my left side. A quiet whooshing noise swept towards me and I felt coolness dragging around my body. _The ocean_, I thought, and closed my eyes to listen, but only for a moment. I didn't want to stay on the beach anymore, since I'd probably been toasted by the sun already and was in danger of getting taken out to sea. I pressed my hands into the sand and stood as quickly as I could when my palms burned. Stumbling across the sand, away from the surf, my legs began to shiver and I collapsed onto all fours with a quiet whimper of pain.

"Your sister's not part of the Guild yet...sorry." My body jerked in surprise at the voice that suddenly reached me. Someone was here, and talking to themself. "But I'll keep trying...and soon...huh? Um...who are you? You okay?" I heard footsteps crunching quickly across the sand and tensed, wondering who it was. Suddenly feeling anxious, I made an effort to push myself upright, and finally succeeded. I rolled over onto my back and tried to sit up, but found I still didn't have much strength. I glanced at myself and saw that my right arm had a bandage wrapped around it, while my stomach and forehead—as well as my whole body—were aching painfully. I touched the spots and felt slight jabs of pain as I did so. My teeth clenched; how had I been hurt? I didn't remember getting into a fight. Something else was off about me, but I was too tired to really focus and figure it out, so instead I let my gaze drift to the one who had called to me, and I blinked a couple times in surprise. "You alright?" I heard the figure say, but I was too busy staring and I didn't answer right off. "Uh...are you listening?"

"I'm listening," I replied hazily, looking at the figure and noting that they had a small brown pouch slung over their shoulders. "Am I...awake?"

"Uh...why? Yeah...you're awake," the figure said doubtfully, stepping closer. I flinched and moved back. "Jeez. You're jumpy. Haven't you seen a Squirtle before?" She turned around, showing off her light brown shell and curled blue tail.

"Squirtle?" I echoed quietly, looking at the Pokémon, now realizing that was what had been confusing me. "You're a Pokémon...but I understand you." I tried to listen closely to myself when I spoke, and heard the Pokémon sounds I was making, but they made sense to me. I could hear them, could take feelings and meaning out of the words, instead of just passing them off as a jumble of noise. The Squirtle's words sounded different than my speech, but I could still understand them. It was just like she had a different style of speaking, kind of a sharp voice, sometimes with a funny rasp to it. "This is crazy," I gasped. "_I _must be going crazy." The Squirtle tilted her head and gave me a suspicious look.

"Are you joking?" She asked incredulously. "Why wouldn't you understand me? You should be able to; you're a Pokémon too, after all." With a sigh, she approached me and tugged my arms so that I stood up, but I struck her paw when she grabbed my right arm. But as she let go, looking wide-eyed with shock, I realized I still couldn't stand on my own and flopped down in the sand, whole body shaking with exertion.

"Don't touch me!" I exclaimed, clutching the bandaged area with my left hand...paw. What had happened to me? I was hurt, and a Pokémon, and had no idea why. "I hit you...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." A flash of concern entered the Squirtle's eyes and she studied my damaged arm.

"What happened?" She questioned curiously, then leaned closer and grimaced. I leaned away slightly. "You really look beat up. Have you been fighting or something?"

"Uh...I don't know." Glancing around, I tried to recognize the scenery, but couldn't. It was just a beach at dusk, nowhere I had been before. "I just woke up here, and..." I trailed off and shook my head. "Hang on," I said, staring at the Squirtle, "you said I was a Pokémon, right?" Somehow, her statement hadn't sunk in. My head was still too muddled to feel very concerned, despite the fact that I could somehow understand her speech. I shouldn't be able to.

"I did. Just look at yourself." Crouching on my knees, I did as she said and stared at my hands, then realized with a huge shock that my skin was green, not a sickly green but a bright green, and there was a section of red skin on my stomach that looked like it went up to my neck. I also seemed to have less fingers than I felt used to. Mentally, I counted, and each time came up with three. A sudden jab of panic made me clench my hands, then glance up sharply at the Squirtle.

"I'm a Pokémon? But that's wrong..." The Squirtle stepped back a few paces, her eyes widening as I yelled again. "I'm a guy!"

"A guy?" The Squirtle repeated, frowning.

"Yeah." I nodded my head and regretted it when it hurt. "So I..."

"I knew that," the Squirtle said, narrowing both eyes. "Why are you telling me?"

"Because I'm not..." I began, but was cut off.

"Yes, you are," the Squirtle retorted. "Male Treecko have brighter colors than female ones."

"That's not what I meant," I protested, and the Squirtle half-smiled at me.

"What did you mean, then, Mr. Treecko?"

"I don't know what happened," I answered shakily, "but I shouldn't be a Treecko! I'm a human!" The Squirtle widened her eyes and stepped back again. "I shouldn't look like this and I shouldn't be able to understand you!"

"You _are_ joking!" The Squirtle burst out, looking a little angry and bewildered. "You're definitely a Treecko!"

"Treecko..." I echoed, taking another stunned look at myself. Green hands—not hands, paws—a head with a little dip in the top. As my paw brushed my forehead, I felt a sharp ache of pain. There was something wrong there, but I couldn't see what, of course. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a thick, dark green tail that I could somehow move back and forth. I grabbed it and gave a sharp tug; I felt a twinge of pain, so it was definitely part of me. Dropping my new tail I whipped back towards the Squirtle. "What...was I doing when you found me?"

"Just lying on the beach," the Squirtle replied with a shrug. She had moved away from me a little, and a wary look had entered her brown eyes. "Why were you there?"

"I can't remember," I answered nervously, trying to think as I spoke, but couldn't come up with a single thing. "I don't know." A sudden bout of dizziness made me fall backward with a thump. "I don't...feel good..."

"Hey, hang in there...come on," I heard the Squirtle say, her voice closer to me, and I tilted my head up to see her leaning over me. She looked worried once again. "Something really beat you up." I lowered my head, too tired to keep looking at her, and felt sling my uninjured arm over her shoulders, and she slowly helped me walk over to the rocks that lined the beach. As we reached the spot, shadows falling over my head and I felt the coolness of the shade and sighed. We were sheltered from the sun by rocks, and my sunburn felt a little better because of it. The Squirtle leaned me against a large rock and stood back. I looked around and saw the mouth of a cave to my right. "What's your name?" The Squirtle asked, and I gazed at her. "You do have one, right? Can you remember it?" I thought for a moment, then nodded; the Squirtle's eyes lit with relief.

"My name...yeah, I remember. My name is Gale."

"Gale, huh," the Squirtle said thoughtfully, smiling sympathetically as she nodded. "You remember what you're called, and that's a good sign."

"Sorry for acting so weird, it's just..." I trailed off, but the Squirtle shook her head swiftly.

"It's alright! You're hurt, but you'll be back to normal once you recover."

"Um...what about your name?" I asked quietly, leaning back against the rock even though the pressure made my burned back sting. I would be feeling this sunburn for a while, I thought sullenly.

"My name?" The Squirtle mumbled reluctantly, rubbing the back of her neck. "I guess I can tell you..." She didn't get a chance to speak again, though. I watched in confusion as a Zubat suddenly flew up and tackled her to the sand. The small brown bag went flying from her shoulders and from it a small, light gray rock tumbled out and landed by my feet. I picked it up carefully and studied it; a pattern of white, swirling marks was painted across its surface. It seemed to have broken off from something, since the edges were jagged. I wasn't sure where it would have come from though. "Hey!" The Squirtle growled, whirling and shaking her fist, and I saw that a Koffing was hovering nearby and chuckling as the Zubat fluttered by his side. "What's the matter with you two? Stop bothering me!"

"Ha ha ha!" The Zubat laughed, then replied in a keening voice, "What's wrong? Can't take a joke?"

"A joke! Yeah, right!" The Squirtle growled furiously, baring her teeth, which I was surprised to see looked razor sharp. "What do you want?"

"You there," said the Koffing in a growling voice, and I was silent for a moment before I realized that he was talking to me. "Give us that rock!" The Squirtle's jaw dropped and she spread her arms out as she stood in front of me. Glancing back, she gave me a desperate look and shook her head frantically.

"Don't give it to them!" She exclaimed, and I reached for her shoulder bag and put the rock inside it, then slipped it over my head and moved it behind me so that it was pressed lightly up against the rock formation I was leaning against.

"You've got some nerve, but he doesn't look too good." The Zubat laughed, and flew over the Squirtle's head towards me. "We're taking that!" He laughed, and without warning, dove for me. I raised my arms to hit at him as he flew closer, but he avoided my swipes and dove again, this time swatting at my arm, the hurt one. I caught my breath as pain shot through me.

"Get lost!" I snapped angrily, pulling the bag from my shoulders and swinging it towards the Zubat, who froze for a moment before backing up in the air. "And don't touch me again!" The Zubat faltered, and started coming for me again, but I forced myself up and took a wobbly step forward. "I mean it! Go!" I swung the bag again. "Get lost!" I looked at the Squirtle and Koffing, and noticed that they seemed to be at a loss for words. The Squirtle looked faintly bewildered, and the Koffing looked stunned. Glancing back at the Zubat I saw that he was finally backing off, but I took a little step towards him as he flew back to Koffing, and I heard him squeak in alarm. The Squirtle watched the pair go, and when they turned back and glared, she inhaled deeply and sent a water gun after them. They jumped and shot off without a backward glance. I sighed and slumped against the rock, setting the bag into the sand, and gingerly examined my right arm. The bandage had been torn in places, and I could see a long scratch underneath it. It had started spotting the white bandage with red, and I sucked in a breath and pressed my left paw against it. "Those idiots..." I said with a grimace as my arm stung, then looked up when I heard the Squirtle approaching. "Oh, sorry." I picked up the bag with the painted rock in it and handed it to her. "Here you go. I think it's fine."

"Thank you," she said, and slung the bag's strap over her shoulders. "I can't believe that you chased them off." I felt a little uncomfortable as she spoke, but just tried to focus on making my arm stop bleeding. "They bullied me for the longest time, but finally I got frustrated and started training so I could beat them up." She sighed heavily. "They still bother me, though. They want my Relic Fragment."

"I was just angry...I didn't really know what I was doing," I admitted in a nervous tone, then looked up and met the Squirtle's eyes. "What'd you call it? Relic Fragment?" She nodded eagerly and pulled the rock out of her bag, then set it on the ground next to me. I looked at it and studied the white, swirling pattern once more.

"I found it a while back when I was exploring," she explained distantly, and a hint of eagerness sparked in her brown eyes. "I like to go looking for hidden places, and I happened to find that. I called it the Relic Fragment...but I just made the name up. I don't know what it is or what it's for." She smiled and picked the rock back up quickly, dropping it into her bag and glancing around. It seemed she was still wary about that Koffing and Zubat, and I didn't blame her. "I have been exploring places for a while, trying to find out where it came from."

"Uh-huh...that's cool," I remarked, nodding, but wasn't paying very close attention to her. I was distracted as I tried to take care of my arm and figure out why I'd become a Treecko.

"So, where did you come from?" The Squirtle asked curiously, and I shook my head.

"I don't know. I can't remember anything." I sighed, trying to pull up any memories, but my mind was blank. "I just woke up here, and that's when you found me." My arm was still throbbing and I winced, looking down at it. It looked a little inflamed.

"There's someone who can make you better in Treasure Town." I looked up, wondering what the place was like.

"Treasure Town...that's an interesting name." The Squirtle nodded and beamed.

"Yeah! It's a great place, and I'll show you around once you're better."

"Thanks," I said, then remembered that just before Koffing and Zubat had shown up she'd been about to say her name. "Could you tell me your name, or should I just call you Squirtle?"

"No, I have another name," she said. "I didn't want to say my name before, really, because you were pretty weird. But something bad happened, so you're confused, aren't you?" I shrugged.

"I guess so..."

"Anyway, my name is Shiloh. It's nice to meet you...um, Gale, right?" I nodded. "Yeah, nice to meet you." By now we'd climbed the sandy hill and were climbing a bunch of stone steps that led up to somewhere I couldn't see yet. "We're almost there. We'll get you fixed up, and then we'll go somewhere to rest." Shiloh looked a little awkward suddenly. "And then...if you feel like it...I kind of have something I'd like you to help me with."

"Uh...what is it?" I asked, feeling uncertain, and Shiloh smiled anxiously.

"I'll explain later." Shiloh took my left arm and tugged on it. "Let's go left here. Spinarak is that way. He helps with injuries and sicknesses and stuff."

"Spinarak? Is he called anything else?" Shiloh pursed her lips in thought and tilted her head.

"I asked him once, but he always says to call him 'Doctor'." I hesitated for a moment, then continued to follow Shiloh uneasily, noticing a few empty shops lined up beside the path. I didn't say anything until we reached Spinarak.

"What's he going to do to me?" I muttered, and the Squirtle looked at me in understanding.

"He has berries and healthy drinks and stuff, and he's really good about healing anything. I bet you'll get better in no time."

"Does he want money?" I asked, clenching my injured arm tighter. I winced and let it go. "Because I don't have any." Squirtle and waved her paws.

"He actually doesn't take Poké. He helps anyone who needs it for free." Shiloh smiled kindly. "But everyone brings him things like apples or Gummis to say thanks."

"What's a Gummi—hey!" I grunted as Shiloh gave me a little push towards Spinarak, who was sitting behind a table that had various leaves, berries and mossy-looking bundles situated into neat piles on its surface. Spinarak focused its little black eyes on me and leaned forward over the table.

"Hello!" The Pokémon said cheerfully, then scuttled around the table towards me. "What can I help with?" I reluctantly offered my right arm and Spinarak moved closer to get a look at it.

"My arm," I told him, then glanced at Shiloh when she strolled closer. "She said you could fix it." I watched Spinarak hurry back to the table, pick up a white bundle, and scuttle back with it between his mouth pincers. He dropped it onto the table, then held it with one of his thin legs.

"I see. Well, it's serious, but it should clear up fine with these." Spinarak tore the bundle open, and I saw that it was silk wrapped around three blue Oran berries. "Would you mind crushing those? Then put them on your arm and I'll wrap it with silk. It's strong, so it should stay on until the cut heals."

"Oh, sure." I crushed the berries between my hands—I should just call them paws and get on it—and rubbed the bluish-purple paste across my cut. It stung a little, but not as much as I'd expected it to. It was starting to make the pain fade, actually, so I kept rubbing it carefully across the red line in my arm.

"That's enough," Spinarak said, and I wiped the rest of the berry pulp onto the ground. I jumped a little as Spinarak spit string from his mouth. Shiloh walked up and started pulling the silk string so it spread out more and began winding it around my arm. When they were finished, I noticed that the injury was starting to feel even better; it wasn't throbbing as much as it had been and the pain had almost vanished.

"Thank you," I told him gratefully and let my arm drop down to my side. "It feels better."

"Just don't push yourself for a while," Spinarak told me sternly, and I nodded. He turned and picked up another white bundle and brought it to me. "These are Oran Berries. Eat one every day starting today until they're gone, and your other injuries will heal soon."

"Thank you," I told Doctor again, and he waved one of his many arms. As I walked off, Shiloh nudged me, and I slowly met her eyes.

"Isn't he good?" She asked, and I nodded. "He didn't even have to ask if you were hurt anywhere else."

"I must really look bad." Shiloh nodded, then pointed to the empty shop we'd passed earlier. It was shaped like a Kecleon's head and had a blue awning over it.

"See that? That's the Kecleon Brothers' shop. They sell apples and berries and stuff. They've closed for today, but we'll go there tomorrow and get something for Spinarak."

"I can't buy anything, though," I protested. "I don't have money." Again Shiloh waved her paws.

"That's fine! I'll buy an apple for him, and you can pay me back."

"But how?" I was starting to get a little irritated. "I don't have money. I can't buy anything." The Squirtle suddenly looked sheepish, and she pulled me to the side of the dirt path we were walking on. I glanced around and saw that there was a hill nearby with stone steps leading up to the top.

"Well, that's fine, too...because..." She grinned and put her paws together excitedly. "This is about the favor I mentioned earlier." I wondered when this would come up. I just hoped it was something I could do, or something that I would be able to refuse.

"...What is it?" Shiloh turned and pointed up the steps.

"See those? They lead to Wigglytuff's Guild. I want to go there and train to be an explorer. I've been in Treasure Town for a few weeks now, but I haven't signed up yet."

"Why not?" I questioned skeptically, and Shiloh turned to me and clapped her paws together.

"Because it's easier to have a partner!"

"Partner..." I repeated slowly. "Like a teammate?" Shiloh bobbed her head eagerly, arms raised and fists clenched. I frowned, wondering if she'd punch me if I said no...but she looked excited, not angry. "What about getting a partner at the Guild?" Shiloh frowned and crossed her arms, staring at the sky as she answered.

"I could do that, but the teams usually already have enough team members. And anyway, you need somewhere to live." She looked down from the sky and met my eyes. "There aren't any other towns close to Treasure Town. I came a long way to get here, and it was rough. I got attacked by other Pokémon along the way. More and more lately, Pokémon have been attacking exploration teams, and anyone who travels outside of towns. Some rumor it's because of problems with time."

"With time?" I asked, but Shiloh's eyes were wide with something like amazement and it didn't seem I'd get an explanation. She seemed to be impressed with me, though I wasn't exactly sure I'd done anything that good.

"The way you scared Zubat and Koffing off was great!" Shiloh grinned. "So that's why I think if we worked together on a team, we could be great explorers."

"Well...I'm not strong, I was just mad at them." I shuffled my feet nervously and clasped my paws together, wondering if I'd ever get used to calling my hands paws, let alone get used to being a Pokémon. "And I don't know what this Wigglytuff's Guild is. That's why I'm not sure." Shiloh's jaw dropped clean open.

"You...don't? Are you joking again?" I shook my head. "I know about it, and I came from far away. It's a famous training guild!" She seemed flabbergasted and I shrugged uncomfortably. "Did you forget that too?" I frowned and shook my head, wondering how if I could explain well enough to help her understand. It was hard to not snap angrily back at her; I guess I was tired of being asked questions when I wasn't in the best mood.

"I couldn't forget. I didn't know in the first place." Crossing my arms, making sure to be careful of the hurt one, I sighed. "I can't remember anything, so it's more important for me to learn how I got here. I don't think I would be much help to you as I am now." Shiloh waved her arms; seemed she did that a lot.

"If Pokémon apprentice at the Guild, though, they get food and a place to stay." I narrowed my eyes, surprised that they could do that. "If we join," Shiloh continued, "they'll take care of room and food, and they'll even take care of us if we get hurt or sick."

"They will?" I asked, intrigued, since I needed somewhere to live, as well as food, and I had already gotten hurt somehow.

"Yeah!" Shiloh said eagerly, and I grimaced inwardly; I think she knew that she was close to convincing me. "I just took you to Spinarak because you needed help right away and we weren't signed up with the guild yet."

"Thanks for helping me, but...I'm still not sure." I gripped my uninjured arm self-consciously. "Like I said, I won't be able to do much right away...or maybe not at all." Shiloh looked a little upset, and she sighed heavily.

"Gale," she said, sounding like she was mildly reprimanding me, "you don't have to go on missions right away." The fact that she seemed irritated about my hesitation annoyed me. "I know you're not feeling well, and that you're not used to the Guild, but we'll be learning as we go. You'll be able to handle it, I promise." She eyed me, her brown eyes intent and hopeful, causing me to feel a twinge of discomfort. "So will you? It'll be great. Let's sign up as a team together." I sighed as I thought about what to do.

"I don't know..." I mumbled anxiously, but knew that I wouldn't get a free place anywhere else. "I'll come with you and see. The Guild does sound interesting, and I do need a place to stay." I sighed again; guess that settled it. I couldn't remember how I'd gotten on that beach, or how I'd come to be injured. And then there was that uneasy, almost panicky feeling in my chest, one that had been nagging ever since I'd woken up. It was telling me I'd forgotten something, but I had no idea what since somehow I had no memories. I only knew that I'd been a human named Gale, but the details of my life were blank. What could I do? The only one I knew was Shiloh, even though I hadn't known her for very long. _Maybe...it's enough_, I wondered thoughtfully. Shiloh seemed alright, friendly and honest enough, and I didn't know where I'd find a place to sleep and things to eat if it wasn't at the Guild. "I'm ready. Where is it?" Shiloh clapped her paws eagerly and jumped into the air.

"Great! The Guild's just up here. Let's go register!" I followed at a slight distance, wondering if that had been a good idea. If it turned out not to be, I could leave...but what would I do after that? I had no idea where I was, and I had no money. If this Guild took care of room and food, that seemed like the best deal I'd find.

"The Guild really will give us food and a place to stay for free?" Shiloh stopped before a hole with a grate over it, and it looked like it had been woven from thick tree branches.

"Yes, really." Shiloh gave me a peculiar smile; for some reason, an unexpected sensation of embarrassment made my face burn. "You're, uh...pretty suspicious, aren't you?"

"...Maybe," I muttered evasively.

"Well, anyway," Shiloh continued, "the Guild will train us to become explorers. They give anyone who wants to form a team somewhere to stay."

"Seems too good to be true," I mumbled to myself, and Shiloh caught my eye sharply.

"What?"

"Nothing," I said quickly, and Shiloh grinned, then turned and approached the grate. Ahead of us, there was a yellow tent with various red markings over its surface, and on top of the tent was a statue shaped like a Wigglytuff's head. A small wooden portcullis covered an opening in the Wigglytuff tent that probably led into the guild. "What are you doing?" I asked Shiloh as she stood on the tree-branch grate, then jumped and scrambled backward when a slightly high-pitched voice cried out.

"Pokémon detected! Pokémon detected!"

"Whose footprint? Whose footprint?" I tried to steady my furious heartbeat. The first voice was loud, but the second was even louder, and they'd nearly scared the daylights out of me. Shiloh seemed to be unfazed, though, and I guessed she had known this would happen. She did seem to know a lot about the Guild.

"The footprint is Squirtle's!" Tentatively, I edged forward, but Shiloh must have heard me; she turned halfway and held her paws up, so I stopped.

"Alright," the louder voice called, "you can ENTER!" Shiloh clenched her fists eagerly.

"Yes!" She cheered, and sprang off the grate.

"Is someone with you?" Came the louder voice. "Make them stand on the grate!"

"Oh, great..." I muttered, but moved forward and walked on the tree branches that formed the cover, and glanced down. I could see that a deep hole had been dug under the grate, but I couldn't see the ones that the voices belonged to.

"The footprint is...is...um...maybe Treecko's!"

_Maybe? _I thought worriedly, picking up my left foot and examining it. It didn't look strange...not for a Treecko anyway. For a human though, it was strange. A split second had me worried that whoever was down there could tell something was off about me, like the fact that I was supposed to be human.

"MAYBE?!" The louder voice demanded, and I might have imagined it, but it felt like the ground shook a bit. I yelled and started to bolt for the stairs, but I forgot to step on the grate's branches and almost fell through the gaps between them. Shiloh rushed over and pulled me to my feet, and I wasted no time in scrambling a safe distance away from the grate.

"Are you okay?" Shiloh asked, patting my shoulders as I got my breath back.

"Fine, but...what is going on?" I demanded breathlessly. "Who are those two?" My heart was still thudding heavily against my chest. Shiloh held up her arms and waved them a little.

"It's okay," she said calmly. "They're the two Pokémon Gatekeepers of the Guild, Diglett and Loudred. I don't know their other names. But I do know that they make sure everyone who comes to visit the Guild check out."

"Check out?" I repeated in confusion.

"They make sure anyone who comes here aren't suspicious," Shiloh clarified patiently.

"Where did you go?" Shaking, I forced myself to go back and step on the grate. Balancing on the grate's woven branches, I gazed down into the murky blackness.

"I'm still here!" I yelled in annoyance. "You were just freaking me out!"

"Yep, it's a Treecko!" The quieter voice said, and I wondered if it was Diglett.

"DIGLETT, you should brush up on your footprints!" For some reason I felt a sudden jolt of realization, and then urgency, but wasn't sure why. I had a feeling of déjà vu, but there was nothing in my head to remember. "Sorry to make you WAIT!" Loudred hollered; even though he was apparently far away under the ground, his voice was making my head buzz. I glanced at Shiloh dizzily, saw that she was massaging her forehead, and knew the volume of Loudred's voice was bothering her too. "You can BOTH enter!"

"Yeah!" Shiloh exclaimed happily after a moment, shaking her head. She beamed at me, and I forced a smile back, then stepped carefully off the grate and watched in trepidation as the wooden portcullis rolled up. "They're letting us in!"

"I can see that," I muttered quietly, trudging along behind Shiloh as she approached the ladder that I hadn't seen when the portcullis had been up. It looked like it reached underground a long way; I couldn't see the bottom of the hole, no matter how hard I looked. _I have no idea what I'm doing. _As Shiloh clambered onto the ladder, I turned uneasily and looked at the stone steps that led back towards town. _What am I getting into?_

* * *

**Doctor...like Doctor Who. Not really. But I thought of the Doctor when I named Spinarak and laughed.  
**

**Shiloh is enthusiastic and good at most everything she tries, but Gale isn't too enthusiastic or cooperative if he doesn't want to do something or might be bad at it. Add a strange world and the fact that he has no memories, and he's even less agreeing. He knew he needed somewhere to stay though so he was backed into forming a team with Shiloh.**

**I wondered a couple times where the main character's partner came from-if they lived in Treasure Town or somewhere else. Bidoof (who I will be giving another name) lived with his family somewhere before he joined the Guild. I decided that Shiloh did the same thing. She was old enough and wanted to travel so she did and eventually found Treasure Town because she'd heard of the famous Guild. Unlike in the game, she wasn't scared of going into the Guild, but she was a bit frustrated because she didn't know anyone in Treasure Town who would want to form a team with her. Most of the other Pokémon already were on teams or weren't interested. And then came Gale. It's been fun to make Gale the more hesitant one and Shiloh the bolder one.  
And when Gale heard Shiloh talking to herself before she found him, Shiloh was upset because she'd told her brother she was going to join the Guild, but felt bad because she hadn't yet, so was promising him she would. I'll talk more about that later.**


	2. Forgotten

**There will likely be spoilers in the story. I forgot to mention that earlier.**

**In the first chapters of my pre-Explorers of TDS story, I said that Dusknoir attacked Grovyle and the main character while they were using the Passage of Time, but I hadn't played that far in the game so I didn't know I was wrong. I know now what happened though. I just beat the whole game a month ago. I'd been playing it a lot, but kind of sucked at it, so hadn't gotten through the game even though I'd started it over lots of times, making sure I got the ****Pokémon**** I wanted. I am pretty picky.**

**Anyway, on with the story. Thanks for reading! I only own my human characters, and sort of own my ****Pokémon characters.**

* * *

**Forgotten**

"What are you doing?" Shiloh's voice made me jolt and whirl back around. "Come on, Gale!" I jumped forward when she slid quickly down the ladder, but I decided to climb more slowly. I kept looking uneasily down to see how far away the ground was, but I couldn't see anything since it was dim. But finally the ladder tunnel started to lighten and I jumped clumsily to the ground that was just a few feet away. Turning, I saw clusters of Pokémon milling and bustling around, and suddenly I felt self-conscious as I trailed after Shiloh. We hadn't made a noisy entrance, but as a trio of Poochyena padded by, they looked curiously at us. I smiled nervously and they nodded a greeting at me but didn't stop to say anything. There were a bunch of Pokémon around us, and I started feeling a little closed-in. I recognized Sunflora and Bidoof talking to each other, a Loudred standing in front of a small green plant, and a Corphish waddling around looking preoccupied. All of the Pokémon except Loudred and Chimecho had a satchel slung over their shoulders, or strapped to their back if they walked on all fours (or sixes, in Corphish's case).

"Do Pokémon come here a lot?" Shiloh gave me an odd look and gestured around the room at everyone. "I meant ones wanting to join the Guild." I turned and watched as, one by one, the Poochyena stood on their hind legs and pulled themselves up the ladder. It had been easy enough for me to use the ladder despite feeling disoriented, but they seemed to have mastered it. I guess they could or had learned to stand on two legs even though normally they ran around on four. Shaking my head, I realized I wasn't comfortable being around a lot of Pokémon in a place that was obviously their territory. I was a Treecko now though, somehow, so there was nothing odd about me being here. It was probably a good idea to not mention the human thing again though. Shiloh glanced at me.

"Yep, lots of them come here to register, and then to find job offers." She studied the groups of Pokémon around us. "All of these Pokémon are apprentices. Some have probably even graduated from the Guild." She stopped and waited, and I copied her. A short distance away, a Croagunk was standing behind a counter that had a boulder behind it that was shaped like him. The Pokémon was peering into a large cauldron that had a suspicious liquid steaming inside it. Just as the Pokémon glanced up and caught my eye, I grinned nervously, then looked away towards a window that looked like it tree roots had been woven to make the panes for it. I could see that through the portal the sky was starting to darken. I think that I had woken up in the morning, but after falling asleep again had slept through until sunset.

"Hey, Shiloh." She turned and looked at me, and I pointed to the window. "We're underground, aren't we? I mean, we used a ladder to get down here." She nodded agreeingly. "So how can we see outside?"

"Oh, hush!" I jumped and glanced around when a haughty, scolding voice sounded. "The guild is built into the side of a cliff! Of course you can see outside." I stared at the Pokémon, and its name suddenly came to mind: Chatot, a bird-Pokémon with blue-feathered wings, a green-feathered body and a yellow ruff of feathers around its neck. Those were the only colorful feathers he had; the rest of his body had black feathers. He was kind of funny-looking, especially with the musical-note shaped crest on its head.

"Oh," I mumbled slowly. "I didn't know that." Chatot narrowed his eyes and hopped closer.

"Well, anyway," Shiloh began, "we came here to—"

"If you're here to sell something, then you may as well go. We don't have time for such things! So shoo!" Chatot flapped his wings rapidly as he finished speaking. I glanced at Shiloh and saw her narrow her eyes and cross her arms.

"We're not selling anything," I explained quickly. "We want to join the Guild." Chatot gave a surprised little hop and quickly turned.

"They want to join?" I heard him muttering in a quick, surprised tone. "They can't be up to it. Surely the crowds of Pokémon that run away from here prove that the training is too difficult!" Shiloh met my eyes and lifted a finger to her head and moved it in circles. I smiled and nodded, fighting the urge to laugh. Chatot did seem a little strange, and definitely the type that liked giving orders.

"Is the training that difficult?" Shiloh asked in annoyance, dropping her arm. Chatot spun back around. "We can take it."

_Speak for yourself, _I thought distractedly, then tried to identify what language I was thinking in. It sounded like I was thinking in human language, but if I stayed a Pokémon for a long time, I wondered if that would change. I wondered how long I would stay a Treecko.

"Well, no! No, no, no! Our training is as easy as can be!" Chatot said in a slightly puzzled voice that suddenly turned pleasant and welcoming.

"What were you worried about, then?" I muttered to myself, and Chatot began waving the note-shaped crest on his head back and forth.

"Why didn't you say that you wanted to form an exploration team?" He questioned cheerfully. Shiloh and I exchanged glances, then shrugged in unison at Chatot.

"We tried," I protested; he gave me a disapproving look, and I glowered back.

"Who are you?" Shiloh asked, and Chatot straightened up, cheery once again.

"I'm the Guildmaster's Second-in-Command." Shiloh nudged me in the ribs.

"That explains it," she whispered. "His bossiness."

"Come this way, please." Chatot hopped over to a light brown wooden door behind him and knocked on it twice with his pink beak.

"What's in there?" I asked curiously, and jumped when Chatot turned unexpectedly and shook his head.

"Who, not what. This is the Guildmaster's chamber." Turning back to the door, Chatot announced in a clear voice, "Guildmaster? Are you there? I'm coming in!" He pushed the door open with his beak and Shiloh trotted in eagerly while I followed with a little less enthusiasm.

_What's this Guildmaster like? _I wondered, then stopped inside the room and glanced at Shiloh. She met my eye with a big smile.

"How come you walk on two feet?" I was a little surprised by the question.

"What else would I do?" I asked defensively, frowning, but I felt nervous. I looked like a Treecko, but I didn't know how to act like one. I was a human, and even though I'd lost my memories, I still knew how to walk like one. It seemed like I'd done something strange for a Pokémon, but Shiloh didn't seem suspicious, just puzzled.

"All the Treecko I've seen have walked on all fours." I froze, unsure of how to respond. If Shiloh ever knew I'd changed somehow from a human into a Pokémon, would she be scared of me, or even angry? Wherever I was, it was obvious there were no other humans. I didn't know what Pokémon here thought of them. As far as I could tell, though, I still had a chance to not look crazy. Shiloh seemed to think that my injuries had made me delirious.

"Um...they do..." I mumbled, trying to quickly make something up. "But my parents were different...they liked to walk on two feet, so I guess I learned it from them." Shiloh frowned, but then her eyes lit up suddenly.

"I thought you couldn't remember anything...did you maybe get a memory back?"

"Oh...yeah..." I mumbled feebly. "I guess I did. Maybe the rest will come back soon." Shiloh thought for a moment, then nodded, and I sighed in relief. I seemed to have convinced her, but barely. From now on, it seemed like a good idea to not try and make anything up, because I had no idea how things went around here. I had the excuse of amnesia, so I probably wouldn't be expected to know much.

"Quiet, please!" Chatot scolded sharply, and I closed my mouth, feeling a little awkward. I had just met Chatot and already I didn't like him that much. Chatot studied me sharply and I looked solemnly back until he turned away and addressed a round pink figure that was standing near the far wall. I recognized the Pokémon as Wigglytuff, even from behind, since it resembled the little tent up by the grate. "Guildmaster, we have some new recruits!" Chatot announced, his voice loud and urgent. Seconds went by and the pink figure didn't move or speak. Chatot's straight back slumped a tad. "Uh...Guildmaster?" The bird Pokémon hopped forward a few paces, then scrambled back as the pink figure abruptly whipped around and gave a loud, energetic cry. The Wigglytuff's light blue eyes seemed widened with eagerness and I felt a little worried as his bright blue orbs fell on Shiloh and me.

"Hiya!" Wigglytuff cried. "Hello, friends! You want to form an exploration team? That's easy!"

"Really?" I asked, feeling relieved, since the shock of Wigglytuff suddenly yelling had made me feel exhausted all over again. I'd had one too many surprises today. The medicine Spinarak had given me was still helping, but I knew that I had to get sleep soon or else I'd probably just pass out right in front of everyone.

"Yup! Just tell me the name of your team!"

"Name?" I heard myself echo dumbly, and Shiloh gently pressed her paw into my right shoulder. I looked at her and she gave me a reassuring nod and smile.

"I've been thinking of a name for a while. I think it's good but tell me if you like it."

"Alright," I agreed, and Shiloh faced Wigglytuff with a confident expression.

"Our team's name will be Team Seekers." Shiloh snuck a glance at me. "What do you think? Good for explorers, right?"

"It's a good name...uh, Shiloh," I told her, remembering her name just in time, and she smiled with pleasure before meeting Wigglytuff's eyes.

"Alright!" The pink Pokémon cheered, and began twirling around in place. "Registering Team Seekers...Yoom...tah!" A flash lit the air, and a sharp crack accompanied it, as if something had exploded, and I jumped in alarm. I glanced at Shiloh and noticed she looked startled too. I crossed my arms, trying to keep them from shaking, wondering if I could ever get used to Wigglytuff. As long as he didn't do weird things all the time, I'd probably be fine, but his personality seemed to be really strange and random. That was better than a bossy one though, I thought as I glanced at Chatot, but I had the feeling I was going to have trouble approaching Wigglytuff to ask questions. I could probably just ask Shiloh or Chatot.

"Now, pay attention!" I snapped back to reality when Chatot rapidly flapped his wings. Maybe not Chatot. I didn't want to feel like a moron or get yelled at every time I asked him something. "The Guildmaster isn't done explaining." Wigglytuff turned and picked something out of a large wooden chest, then approached Shiloh and me. He set it down carefully and I saw that it was a medium-sized gold box. Shiloh eagerly flipped it open and I studied the contents. There were two small, white round items with a pink orb in the middle, and they were resting on top of two scarves, one a deep blue and the other a minty green. Shiloh picked out the green scarf and the round item, which I saw now was a kind of pin that she was poking through the scarf. I picked the blue scarf and pinned the winged item through the the scarf, then stared at it for a moment before looking at Shiloh. She was wrapping the scarf around her neck, so I decided to do the same. I awkwardly tied a knot in the back, and even though the weather was warm already, the scarf felt comfortable.

"Those badges are important," Wigglytuff explained. "They're your exploration team badges, and they have the ability to help Pokémon in mystery dungeons. They can transport Pokémon back to Treasure Town." I stared down at the badge in surprise. It looked ordinary to me.

"How'd you make them do that?" I wondered aloud, glancing down at the badge.

"I know! They used an Escape Orb," Shiloh explained, and Chatot looked at her, impressed.

"That's exactly right. Croagunk was able to make them with his cauldron. In addition to swapping items, he can combine two items and make a new one. That's how these badges were made."

"There's one more thing in the box," Wigglytuff went on happily. "Take it." Shiloh picked a light brown satchel from the golden box and offered it to me; I took it, and she reached into pulled out another one. There was a loop that slipped around a button attached to the bottom of the satchel and held it closed. I pulled the button through the loop and lifted the bag's flap, then looked inside. The bag was small, but looked like it could hold a handful of things if it was packed the right way.

"Our treasure bags," Shiloh said in excitement as she looped the strap over her head. "It can hold things we find in the Mystery Dungeons." Wigglytuff nodded approvingly several times.

"Right! It can only hold a certain number of items now, but as your exploration team rank goes up, we'll award you with bigger bags, and new badges, too."

"Great!" Shiloh exclaimed, then turned to me. "Isn't it, Gale?" I buttoned my bag and looked at her. In spite of being in an unknown place and not having any memories, I felt a little excited for some reason.

"Yeah," I agreed, nodding, and gave her a little smile before facing Wigglytuff. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, friends!" Shiloh smiled at me as Wigglytuff twirled and danced around a bit; I smiled weakly back. "It's your first full day tomorrow, so go to your rooms now and get some rest!"

_Finally! _I thought with relief, and left eagerly when Chatot escorted us to the door and led us down a long hallway. To the left and right there were rooms, but we didn't stop until we'd reached the end of the hall. There was a cluster of wooden signs on the left wall, but I didn't look closely enough to see what was written. Beyond the signs I saw a room with two round piles of straw on the floor. On the left side of the room was a window, and it looked like the panes had been fashioned from tree branches, just like the grate at the entrance.

"Here we are," Chatot announced briskly, gesturing with his left wing at the straw piles. "This will be your room for the duration of your stay here. Dinner will be soon, so get your things organized. Chimecho will signal when it's time to eat. Do you have any questions?" I kept my mouth shut; I had lots of them, but was going to wait to ask Shiloh, since she didn't seem as bossy or demanding as Chatot.

"I'm fine," I replied, then looked at Shiloh and wondered if she had questions, since she already seemed to be comfortable with how the Guild worked. I hoped she didn't; Chatot had gone on enough tirades to last us for the rest of our lives.

"I'm good, too. Thanks, Chatot!" She smiled and waved as the Pokémon left, and I sighed and took the round pile of straw on the right of the room, farthest from the window.

"I'm beat," I groaned, lying down in the straw on my left side. "I might just skip dinner and go to bed." Rolling over, I slipped the bag over my head and put the bundle of Oran berries inside, then picked one out and started munching on it. The straw bed was a little itchy, but it was soft, and I felt myself starting to get drowsy.

"You should eat supper with everyone," Shiloh said. "It's a good chance to introduce yourself." I set the satchel against the far wall, away from the window, and shook my head.

"This is fine for now," I assured Shiloh, holding up the Oran berry before I tossed the rest of it into my mouth. After swallowing it I yawned and stretched. "I really need to sleep."

"Alright," Shiloh said, but I could tell she was still uncertain. I heard a faint chiming noise from somewhere far off, but I was too tired to really wonder what it was. The Squirtle turned and began to walk off, then glanced back at me. "See you tomorrow."

"Thanks," I murmured sleepily, and the last thing I thought about was how I'd become a Pokémon.

_It can't be that I'm really a Treecko, _I told myself as I drifted off. _This is a dream, and tomorrow I'll wake up and be human again. Everything will be normal._

_...It would help if I knew what normal was._

* * *

I bolted up from my bed of straw and glanced around the room, breathing heavily. I'd dreamed about something that had been chasing me, but I couldn't remember any other details. Sighing quietly, I lay back in my bed, and rested both hands on my stomach as I stared at the ceiling. I didn't know what time it was, but I stared over at the window and saw that the sky was a pale blue. It seemed like it was early in the morning. When did the Guild apprentices get up each morning? It'd be nice if they got to sleep in, I thought tiredly, and my gaze fell on Shiloh. Her straw bed was just under the window. Whenever it rained, she'd probably get wet, and even though she was a water type it probably wouldn't be that nice. Later I'd ask her if she wanted to move the beds around so she wouldn't get hit by the weather. I felt a little guilty for having taken the bed farthest from the window. The first day I'd been too tired the first day to worry about having a roommate, but now I did worry. The day after we'd come to the Guild, I'd pulled my bed as far as I could away from Shiloh's, since I didn't want to accidentally roll over into her bed during the night.

My mouth opened and I gave a huge yawn. I still felt drained; last night I hadn't gotten much rest. That dream had come back a couple of times, keeping me from getting enough sleep. The first day, I'd been exhausted, and had slept almost non-stop for a couple days while eating Oran berries to get better. Shiloh had told me that she'd visited Spinarak yesterday, and that he said I could probably take my bandage off tomorrow. Before I forgot to eat an Oran berry, I rolled over to quietly reach for my satchel, then took one of the blue berries out and ate it while I watched the sky brightening through the window panes. Seemed like it was going to be a nice day, I thought, and felt cheered up while swallowing the last of the Oran berry. There were four left now. I wondered when I'd be well enough to see what explorations were like. I hadn't gone on any yet, and neither had Shiloh. She'd been learning about the Guild and telling me, at least, when I was awake, which was normally only at suppertime. I'd gone outside the Guild a couple times to take a short walk, but that had been all. I was starting to get better, and although I wasn't sure about being on an exploration team, I wanted to do something besides eat and rest. Because of that, I think I was getting excited about exploring. Shiloh had told me that the Guild apparently trains first-rate exploration teams, but before they get to that point, those teams had to work hard at the Guild, and they trained by helping Pokémon who had jobs for them to do. One day they would take the graduation exam, which was supposedly very difficult. I didn't know how teams accepted jobs or completed them yet, though. Shiloh hadn't explained anything about that to me, so maybe she didn't know either.

Suddenly I heard thudding footsteps tramping into the room, and I sat upright to see Loudred standing there.

"Uh, hey...what's going on?" He didn't seem to have heard me because instead of answering, the Pokémon took a deep breath.

"TIME TO GET UP!" He hollered, and I lurched backward in shock. "YOU ROOKIES HAVE TO START WORKING!" With that, the round-eared Pokémon stomped from the room. All I was able to hear was a piercing ring that was making my head throb. I looked frantically over at Shiloh, and saw that she was covering her head tightly with both arms as she lay on her stomach.

"Shiloh!" I called, but could barely hear myself. I rolled over and stood shakily, then shook her shoulders, and she rose slowly from her cowering position and looked at me through wide, confused eyes.

"What happened?" It was getting a little easier to hear now, and I let her shoulders go as I moved back.

"Loudred came in and yelled at us." Shiloh rubbed her head with both paws and shook it a few times.

"Maybe it's time to get up. It's morning." She stood, stretched her arms, and yawned. I felt myself yawning loudly too. "Let's see out and see what's going on." I was about to leave the room, but spotted Shiloh grabbing her satchel, so I headed back and got mine. Afraid that Loudred would come back and yell if I didn't hurry, I quickly pulled the satchel strap over my head and ran down the hall after Shiloh, then ground to a halt out in the main area outside the Guildmaster's room. There was a large group of Pokémon waiting before Chatot, and I recognized a couple of them—Chimecho and Corphish—from the day before. I counted as I named the rest in my head: Diglett, Dugtrio, Bidoof, Croagunk and Sunflora. Shiloh took a spot next to Corphish, and I stood next to Bidoof. I glanced over and down, and saw a faint smile on the Pokémon's face.

"Hi there," he said, and I nodded in return.

"Hi."

"It's great to meet you, yup yup. I'm glad you two joined. I was the newest apprentice until you two showed up." I didn't say anything, suddenly unsure of how to respond. "My name's Callo. What's yours?" I saw Shiloh turn out of the corner of my eye.

"I'm Gale," I told the Bidoof, and felt Shiloh nudge me in the ribs. I looked at her and she smiled.

"Callo's been telling me about the Guild, and I've been telling you. Some things I already knew, but he's taught me lots of new things." Callo beamed. "I found Gale a couple days ago on the beach," Shiloh explained amicably, and I looked warningly at her. "He doesn't have any memories from before that. He doesn't remember what happened to him." Callo looked taken aback, but then he gave me a sad look.

"Golly...that sounds awful. I hope you get your memories back soon."

"Me too," I agreed, and Shiloh looked a little uncomfortable. I sighed and looked away, then back, and forced a smile at her. Her eyes brightened a little. It was good that she hadn't told Callo that I'd said I was human. I didn't want anyone else to think I was weird in the head.

"Alright, everyone! Today I expect you to do your jobs well!" Everyone cheered, then began chanting when Chatot raised his wings.

"One! Don't shirk work! Two! Run away and pay! Three! Smiles go for miles!" I listened in confusion as everyone yelled off a list of, I guess, guidelines. I shook my head. I could really understand them, no matter how different they all sounded. The Pokémon gave one last cheer and moved off; Croagunk hopped behind his stone desk, Diglett and Loudred wandered over to a small green seedling, and Chimecho followed the others up the ladder. Callo was about to leave, too, but I hesitatingly approached him, a little nervous at talking to him. Shiloh had been easy enough to talk to; she'd started the conversation, but I wasn't sure if I could start one on my own. Callo turned and looked at me, and it seemed like he'd heard me.

"Hey, Gale. Do you need something?" I gulped and forced myself to talk.

"I just had a question...what was that just now? That chant?" He turned and sat down.

"Those were the rules the Guildmaster created for the Guild. There are a lot more, but I reckon it'd take all day to say them, so we just say the first few."

"Do we need to memorize them all?" Shiloh asked with a hint of trepidation in her voice.

"You don't have to, but eventually you'll just pick them up, especially the first three we say every morning. They're all written on a sign just inside the Guild entrance." Shiloh nodded and I sighed, wondering what we were supposed to do now. "Since you're new, why don't I show you around?" Shiloh grinned brightly.

"Sure! That'd be great!" Callo turned and we followed him up the ladder (like the Poochyena, Callo stood up on his back legs briefly before starting to climb) and from there he strode over to a small billboard that had several papers tacked onto it.

"This is the job bulletin board. You pick any job you want, and then go outside of town to the mystery dungeon it's located in."

"The...mystery dungeon?" I echoed dumbly, not sure what he was talking about.

"Yeah," Shiloh said. "They're strange places with lots of neat things in them, like Poké, apples, Gummis, and other treasure. All of the exploring we'll do will take place in mystery dungeons." She turned and approached the billboard, then pulled a leaf of paper down from it. When she approached me and held the white paper out, I saw that it had brown streaks in it, as if it had come from a tree. As I took the paper and studied it, Shiloh explained further. "Pokémon who need help write requests for teams to do. Most of them are helping Pokémon who are lost in dungeons, or who need to find an item."

"That's it! You sure are smart!" Callo exclaimed, sounding impressed. "Doesn't seem like you need my help after all, huh." Shiloh shook her head quickly.

"No, we need your help. We're new here. I've learned a little about the Guild, but I don't know everything." She smiled and Callo seemed to get embarrassed and looked at his paws. "So anything you tell us will help a lot." I glanced down at the job description, and saw that some strange writing, like footprints, were scrawled across the bark paper. "What's it say?" Shiloh asked, and I hesitated. I could only make out a few words; the rest of the runes made no sense to me.

"Um...something about needing a...something." Shiloh looked puzzled; she pulled the paper from my paws and scanned it.

"You can't read these?"

"I sort of can...but not much," I admitted, feeling a pulse of unease at her surprised tone.

"No one taught you?" Callo looked similarly disbelieving. "Most everyone knows footprint runes!" I shrugged self-consciously.

"Well, I know some...so, I was probably taught by someone." Shiloh flinched.

"I keep forgetting you can't remember anything...I'm really sorry." The Squirtle wrung her paws, and Callo looked at me sadly.

"It's just a little confusing..." I told her slowly, "but it's not your fault. Don't apologize." Shiloh shuffled her feet awkwardly, then turned to Callo.

"We'll take this job. It's in a place called Drenched Bluff, and the one asking for help is Spoink."

"How do we tell them we're doing the job?" I questioned, hoping that eventually I would understand how the Guild worked without having to ask over and over.

"Pokémon who need help usually live in or near Treasure Town," Callo explained, "and Spoink likes to come visit a lot. I know him; he's asked for help a couple times before." Shiloh folded the paper in half and tucked it into her satchel.

"Will we be able to find him now?" Callo bobbed his head eagerly.

"I reckon he won't have gone far. He waits around Treasure Town when he posts a job."

"Hey, Gale, let's go find him!" Shiloh tugged on my left arm and I stumbled after her, and waited a couple seconds for her to climb the ladder before starting to climb it myself. My arm twinged, but it wasn't bad enough to make me stop. The main floor of the Guild was bustling, and the sky was bright through the windows. It was strange, I reflected, that I was underground. I didn't think I'd ever been underground, but I decided that it was nice, which was good since it was where I now lived. As I went up the rungs of the ladder, I watched the Pokémon wandering around and could tell they were both excited and focused on what they were doing. They were exploration teams too, Shiloh had said earlier. Before I stepped from the ladder onto the floor above, I glimpsed the three Poochyena I'd seen the first day standing in a circle and barking to each other, looking like they were eagerly discussing something.

"Come on, Gale," Shiloh urged me, and I looked up to see her leaning over me. Her paws took my wrists and I clambered off the ladder and onto the ground.

"Thanks," I sighed, glancing back at the ladder. It was a long way to fall down if I slipped, but luckily I didn't seem to have a fear of heights.

"Sure. Now let's go find Spoink. I haven't met one before, so we might have to ask around just a little." I trailed after Shiloh, then hurried up when she took off at a jog. I kept up alright, even when I hurried down the stairs from the Guild, and soon I'd caught up with her. "I explored Treasure Town while you were resting, so I'll tell you about the shops there." We were passing Spinarak's stall now and we waved at him when he called out a greeting. "Duskull Bank is right there," Shiloh said, indicating a small building off to the right. No one was there now, but—like Wigglytuff's Guild—a large statue rested on top, this time in the shape of a Duskull. Even though it was just a building, I felt a shiver go down my spine when I saw the Pokémon's red eyes and pale face standing out against its dark gray body. "We should keep any Poké we find in mystery dungeons in Duskull's care. He's reliable, and even though he's a Ghost type, he's not too scary. He's really nice to everyone around here."

"Okay," I said with a nod, and attempted to memorize the shops' owners and appearances as much as I could as the tour continued.

"That's the Kecleon Brothers' shop." Their shop tent had a statue of themselves as well. "The older one—he's green—sells food and magic seeds and Gummis, and the younger one sells orbs and technical machines. When I have enough Poké, I want to get one so I can learn a new move."

"Cool," I remarked. "Which one would you want?"

"Well, not a specific one...just anything that's useful, and strong too," Shiloh replied, then pointed off to another shop. A burly, yellow Pokémon with black stripes was at his shop, and the huge face on top of the building was almost as large and unsettling as Duskull's. "There's Electivire's shop. He helps Pokémon learn to use two abilities at the same time, but," the Squirtle leaned closer to me, "it's pretty expensive—five hundred Poké a session."

"That does sound like a lot," I agreed, and waved when Electivire turned around and grinned at us. Shiloh spoke at a normal volume again once we were out of the Pokémon's earshot, and smiled sheepishly at me.

"We won't be able to buy too many things at first, since we give most of our reward from missions to the Guild."

"There's a reward?" I repeated, interested. Shiloh looked thoughtful.

"That's right...you can't really read the runes." She glanced at the sky, then back down at me. "Well, that's okay. I'll help you until you learn them all. The paper said the reward was 2000 Poké, but we only will get to keep 200 of it. The rest goes to the Guild so they can keep operating."

"And we can split it from there," I told her, and she stared at me. "I mean, you'd get one hundred, and so would I."

"Yeah...that sounds good. Or, I guess we could just put our Poké to a team fund and buy stuff together, but we'll see."

"Alright," I said, then stopped and looked down the path; it had suddenly split from a straight one into one that led off to the left. "What's down there?"

"Chansey's Day Care," Shiloh answered promptly. "She's not there now, but I asked around. She takes care of Pokémon eggs. Sometimes, eggs are given as mission rewards instead of items or Poké."

"Pokémon...eggs?" I asked, puzzled. "Like a baby?"

"Uh-huh. Well, before it hatches." Shiloh explained. "Lots of Pokémon are born from eggs. I was."

"Wow..." I muttered, not liking the sound of getting an egg to take care of. It would be like being a parent, and I wasn't in a position to do that. And despite what Shiloh thought, I knew I was different, since I _was _a human. Or had been. Shiloh's mouth turned up in a smirk.

"If you forgot even that," she chuckled, "you really have some remembering to do."

"Thanks a lot," I grumbled, a little annoyed and embarrassed.

"Just kidding. Sorry. I shouldn't. So, anyway...we passed it already, but there's a place where Xatu will tell us what's in any secret boxes we find in dungeons. I just learned about him too. Then down there," Shiloh pointed to the path ahead of us, "is where Kangaskhan helps teams store items. She likes if everyone calls her Auntie. She's really kind, and we should leave important things with her so we don't lose them if we get beaten in dungeons." I froze and stared at Shiloh, widening my eyes.

"Beaten?" My voice came out high and alarmed. "By who?"

"Other Pokémon," the Squirtle answered, lowering her shoulders, and as she spoke her eyes became distant. "There have been weird things going on lately, like earthquakes, and some say time is also going out of control. Pokémon in mystery dungeons have been going crazy and attacking anyone who goes into them. So we need to be able to fight sometimes if we want to help. It's strange, that by fighting Pokémon we help them, but..." She trailed off with a sigh, and I remembered that she'd mentioned something about a problem with time a couple days ago, but hadn't told me anything else about it.

"Fight...but I don't know how," I protested. "I'm not strong, and I've never fought before."

"Hey, hang on," Shiloh cut me off sharply, her eyes now angry. "You scared off Zubat and Koffing and helped save my Relic Fragment. And you're almost better, right?" I nodded morosely, not looking the least bit forward to fighting Pokémon. "So you'll be fine! But we won't go into dungeons that are too far. Later, we'll be stronger and will be able to go farther from Treasure Town."

"Great," I said, then perked up and noticed something bouncing towards us. "What's that?" I asked, a little startled, and Shiloh turned.

"That might be Spoink. Let's go talk to him." Spoink didn't look particularly male or female to me. I'd met several Pokémon so far, and sometimes could tell if they were male or female by the way they spoke, but Shiloh seemed able to tell by noticing their colors or height or something, the way she'd known I was male. Maybe all Pokémon could just tell like that, but I'd started to notice that they didn't seem to care much one way or the other. I broke out of my thoughts just as Shiloh caught my eye and motioned for me to follow her. Before the Pokémon could bounce too far away we reached him and Shiloh tapped him on the shoulders. "Are you Spoink?" She asked politely. "I think we accepted your job." The Pokémon didn't have feet, but was bouncing up and down on a coiled tail that seemed to serve as feet. His body was dark purple and his pink nose was twitching. He was a bit funny-looking, but I decided that he looked kind of cute, too.

"That's me," Spoink replied, jumping around in a circle. It was hard to watch him without getting dizzy.

"The job said you needed your pearl," Shiloh told him. "Could you tell us what happened?"

"Sure," Spoink replied, and slumped a little, ceasing his jumping for a moment. "It's usually on my head, but someone took it when I was walking just outside town. Recently I heard that someone had seen it around the drenched bluff, but I can't go there. I'm not strong enough, and without my pearl, I'd definitely have no chance. It keeps me balanced. So I put in a request."

"Well, we'll help, right Gale?" Shiloh's brown eyes met mine and I nodded absently. "Where's the bluff?"

"Just outside of town. Follow the path for a while, and when it splits, go left." Shiloh beamed and nodded eagerly, then turned to me.

"Wait," I protested, and both Shiloh and Spoink turned to me curiously. "What does your pearl look like?"

"It's pink and shiny," Spoink answered, bouncing up and down in a fretful manner. "You can't miss it."

"We'll find it, so just sit tight!" Shiloh beamed at me, her fists clenched and voice raised in excitement. "Isn't this great, Gale? It's our first exploration! Let's go!"

* * *

**First mission, yeah! Except Gale's still not enthusiastic. Good thing Shiloh's the team leader.  
So how do you like Bidoof's name? I picked a type of seaweed for his name and thought it sounded good. I'm going to try to pick good names for the others, too, except Kangaskhan, since the only name I think to call her is Auntie. She's called Auntie in the Japanese version of Mystery Dungeon (the TV series anyway) since in Japan that's what older or slightly-older women are usually called (as well as actual relatives). People do that in Korea and China too, and probably lots of other places. I think it's nice, and I do it too, since I have so many family members I can't remember how they're related to me. I always just call them cousins or aunts or uncles even if they're actually just good family friends. :)**  
**Oh, and Spoink didn't give his name, but I think I'll have him tell Shiloh and Gale later. I don't know a good name for him though...but I'll find one.**


	3. Exploration

**Enjoy the chapter and thank you, as always, for reading and for the favorites and reviews!  
I'm actually sitting at a desk now while I'm writing! The whole summer, my AC unit was in front of my desk, and I couldn't move the unit without the tube that brought air into the unit breaking off. But now it's getting cold and I put the unit in my closet. I didn't have a good place to sit, so my back was really starting to hurt. But now it's fine and I'll be able to focus better and bring my typing skills back up.  
I only own my human characters and partly own the Pokémon characters.**

* * *

**Exploration  
**

"Gale? Aren't you excited?" Shiloh prompted, nudging me in the ribs, and I managed to nod.

"The first mission...it's something," I managed to reply. "We'd better get going." Shiloh's paws clapped to her stomach and I heard a low growl. "Mm...we haven't had breakfast yet."

"But we don't have any money," Shiloh said ruefully, "and I don't have anything to sell. Usually teams go out and find food in dungeons." I pulled the Oran berry bundle out of my pouch and tore a little hole in the silk, removed a blue-violet berry, then stretched silk over the hole and returned the berries to my satchel.

"It's no good if we're hungry," I stated, holding my stomach as I tried to keep it from growling. "Take one of these. I ate one this morning." Shiloh eyed the berry, and I could tell by the intent look in her eyes that she wanted it. "Go ahead. I'll get another one later. And I think I'm almost healed anyway."

"Alright." Shiloh reached out and took the berry in both paws. "Thank you!" We sat while she munched at the berry, and a couple minutes later she shot to her feet and grabbed my left arm.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed, startled, trying vainly to shake my arm free.

"I'm ready! Let's go!" I barely had time to react before Shiloh tugged on my arm, prompting me to run, and I had to move or else I'd probably trip and fall right on my face. I worked my paw free once I started running on my own and tried to follow her through Treasure Town without crashing into anyone. Panting, I noticed I was starting to get a little tired, but couldn't get enough breath to yell for Shiloh to slow down. The terrain changed almost right away once we left town, and my feet pounded as I struggled to keep up. Eventually, Shiloh began to slow, and I saw that the path forked up ahead. "Almost there!" She called back to me, and I sighed in relief when she kept up a light walk. By the time I saw the bluff coming up I'd almost gotten my breath back. The cliff terrain looked dangerous, and I wasn't too eager about exploring this place. But I didn't say anything; we had to explore here if we wanted to find Spoink's pearl. And with luck nothing would attack us. Straightening up and taking a final deep breath, I approached Shiloh with uneasy steps and she turned to me. "The beach stretches all this way." When she beckoned, I reluctantly followed and stood back while she leaned over the sea cliff and looked down. "Wow, it's pretty. There's a beach down there."

"Hey, come back," I told her edgily, taking a cautious step forward. "It's dangerous." Shiloh glanced at me and chuckled.

"I can swim, so it's no big deal if I fall." I felt a little surge of alarm and shook my head quickly.

"Just come back!" I snapped, unexpectedly losing my temper, and felt my paws clenching as my heart thudded. "If we're separated we might not finish the mission. And who cares if you can swim? You could still get hurt." Shiloh gave me a look of slight annoyance, but she glanced down one last time and stepped away from the cliff anyway.

"You're right...fine, I'm coming." Heaving a big sigh of relief, I began picking my way over the rocky ground, well away from the steep cliffs. There were a few minutes of silence as I walked with Shiloh, until she cleared her throat loudly. I glanced around and met her eyes. "You don't seem enthusiastic about being on an exploration team." I noticed uncomfortably that she looked a little frustrated and put out. "So why would you care if we didn't finish the mission?" I was a little taken aback, but felt pressured to answer, so I hurriedly tried to respond.

"Well...uh..." I mumbled, then lifted my voice. "I'm not used to exploring, but I don't want to quit the mission halfway through when we came all this way." Shiloh opened her mouth, then closed it quickly, her eyes a little wide with surprise. "I don't want to go back without the pearl."

"Well, now...that's the spirit, Gale!" Shiloh exclaimed, and I jolted in alarm and stared. "That's all you need to be on an exploration team—perseverance!" A knowing smirk grew on her face. "Now you just need to improve your attitude...easier said than done."

"What...?" I asked blankly. "Were you dawdling on purpose to test me or something?"

"Well, no...I like enjoying the scenery." I sighed heavily.

"It's nice, yeah, but enjoy it from a safe distance from now on." Shiloh laughed, and together we began climbing over and around rocks along the bluff. "So, the pearl should be around here somewhere, right?"

"Yeah...the trick is finding it," Shiloh said, pursing her lips in a frown. "Let's look all over the place. It's a while until evening." I nodded and moved on, trying to keep my footing on the loose bits of rock and gravel. As we continued on, the cliffs started to slope downward, and soon we found ourselves close to the shore. As I glanced around a slick boulder, wondering if the pearl could be behind it, a flash of yellow made me yelp and jump back in surprise. I heard a ringing sound coming from the yellow thing. "What's wrong?" Shiloh exclaimed, and I turned to see her running towards me, eyes serious and paws clenched. I gestured to the yellow thing, and she growled at it. "A Chingling. They're tough to deal with."

"A Pokémon this small?" I whipped my gaze back to the Chingling, then quickly leapt backwards as he hopped closer, the chiming noises sounding whenever he moved. The round yellow Pokémon had two red-and-white-striped antennae on its head, small arms and legs, and a weird thin smile with two large black circles on either side.

"Watch out!" Shiloh yelled as Chingling swiftly jumped towards me. Panicking, I quickly tried to balance and kicked out at it with my left foot; the strike caught it between the eyes, and I stumbled backward and almost fell, but saw that the kick had been enough to push the Chingling back. "Not bad! I'll finish it off!" Shiloh inhaled deeply, then let out the breath, but instead of air a stream of water shot from her mouth. The Chingling was pushed away a fair distance until it struck a rock; the Pokémon tumbled to the ground and lay there.

"Should we...help?" I asked, out of breath and somewhat shaken from the fight, but Shiloh waved her paws lightly.

"We didn't do too much damage. Now come on—there are more Pokémon around here, and they'll attack if they see us." I didn't need telling twice, and rushed after Shiloh, but gave the Chingling a wary glance as we ran past. The bluff seemed to become maze-like as we continued on, and suddenly our path was blocked as a Chingling jumped out from behind a large rock.

"They like coming out of nowhere," Shiloh grunted irritably. "Let's do this. Try using one of your attacks."

"I kind of...don't know any," I admitted sheepishly, and Shiloh gave me a bewildered look.

"You don't know..." She slapped her forehead hard. "You must at least know absorb!"

"Not really." Swallowing hard, I glanced at the Chingling and knew that to get around it, we'd have to fight it. _I'll just try what I did last time. _I walked up to the Chingling, trying to decide between kicking it and punching it, but I realized too late that I had taken too much time. The Chingling leapt and tackled me, knocking me backward heavily. "Ow!" I grunted, then got back to my feet. "Hey!" Angrily I held my arms up, clenching my paws into fists, and blocked with my left arm as the Chingling tackled me again. The hit made me stumble back a few paces, but I rushed forward and jabbed at the Chingling with my right fist and punched it between the eyes. Chingling tumbled backward and then shakily got to its feet, but I caught a glimpse of Shiloh running past me, and she finished the Pokémon off with a water gun.

"Let's keep going," Shiloh said, ushering me away from the unconscious Chingling, and I snuck a glance back at as we moved.

"I actually fought," I said to myself, my previous guilt replaced with triumph. I hadn't really liked beating either of those Chingling up, but I didn't want Shiloh and me to get beat up instead, and it had been kind of cool to fight. "We got him! Your water gun was great!"

"Uh, thanks...but you should really try and use some special attacks." I was saved from having to say anything because we'd come upon a wall of towering boulders slick with water and covered with seaweed. "Dead end." Shiloh lifted her shoulders, unconcerned, and turned to walk back out. I turned and followed her too but then stopped dead. A Lileep was blocking our way, having probably snuck up on us while our backs had been turned.

"Move!" I yelled, feeling bolder from the last two fights, but the Lileep didn't budge. It swayed its flower-shaped head, and a hollow, eerie sound came from it. It sounded like the Lileep was gurgling. I glanced questioningly at Shiloh and saw that she was glaring at the Lileep.

"Don't laugh!" She snapped at Lileep. "Move or I'll take you out with one hit!"

"_You _two should leave!" The Lileep growled in a crackling voice. "You don't live here."

"No one asked you to bother us," I said. "We weren't bothering you."

"You're bothering everyone by being here." The Lileep lunged forward on its four feet, faster than it looked like it should be able to. It shoved past me, and I stumbled and fell, but leapt up again. Shiloh sprayed the Lileep with water gun, but it dodged swiftly and suddenly the pink tentacles on its head extended and wrapped around Shiloh's body.

"Alright, you asked for it!" She grunted, struggling. I froze for a moment, then rushed towards Lileep, drew my left fist back, and then jabbed it forward into Lileep's head. "Gale!" Shiloh yelled in dismay, but I wasn't listening. Punching Lileep had been like punching a rock, and I jumped backward and cradled my left fist against my chest, then shook it furiously as it throbbed with pain. "Lileep's a Rock type, Gale..." She sounded exasperated. "Don't do that again." The Lileep turned halfway towards me and gave a crackly laugh.

"You should have just run," the Pokémon jeered, and I grit my teeth and glowered. "Are you so weak that you can't use any real attacks?"

"Bite me," I grunted, still shaking my aching fist, and heard Shiloh exhale in a sigh. I glanced at her quickly, noticed she was taking a deep breath, and stepped quickly backward.

"What are you doing?" The Lileep snapped warily, but was distracted by Shiloh hitting it point-blank in the face with a water gun. Lileep released the tentacles, lurched backward a few steps, then toppled to the ground. Shiloh caught my eye and gestured for me to run, and we didn't waste any time leaving the Lileep in the dead-end corridor. We ran for a few minutes, and I almost stumbled and fell when Shiloh came to an unexpected halt. "Look at that!" She gestured ahead off to the right, beneath a rocky overhang that had a nearby spring welling up from the ground, and I spotted a pinkish object sparkling just inside a circle of broken rocks.

"Is that Spoink's pearl?" I asked, moving closer to get a better look.

"It should be! Let's grab it and get going."

"Okay." I hefted the pearl up from the ground, and it pearl felt cool in my small paws. It was a little heavy, but I tucked it the crook of my left arm and faced Shiloh with an unexpected smile.

"Mission accomplished," I told her.

"We just have to watch out for Pokémon on the way back...especially Lileep," Shiloh said with a meaningful look as she grinned. I laughed and started to walk back to her, but stopped suddenly as the ground began swaying beneath my feet. I knew it wasn't an earthquake, because the swaying feeling was inside of me, not the ground. As I held my head with both paws I felt the pearl drop to the ground, but wasn't able to pick it up again. "Whoa! Careful!" I heard Shiloh chide me. "It could break! What would we tell Spoink?" I didn't answer; my head was buzzing and the dizziness was getting worse. I wondered if this was because I wasn't entirely recovered yet, or was hungry or tired, but I knew that I wouldn't feel this bad. My eyes closed against a sudden bright flash of light, and I caught snatches of images as they flew by in my mind.

I recognized Shiloh and saw her rushing after some round object—Spoink's pearl!—and then heard her crying out in alarm as the cliff terrain she was on crumbled beneath her without warning. With another flash of light the images stopped and I gasped, shaking my head back and forth, unable to process what had happened.

"Wha—wha...what was that?" I gasped, still holding my head, and jolted when I felt a touch on my shoulders. Looking around, I saw Shiloh's brown eyes gazing at me worriedly.

"Gale, are you okay? What happened?"

"I got...dizzy. Just for a second." Shakily, I looked up at her, remembering the images with a thudding heart. "And...I saw something weird...I saw you, and you were chasing Spoink's pearl...but then you were falling. You were on a cliff, and it broke...you fell, Shiloh." Shiloh now looked bewildered and a little scared, but she smiled tightly at me, then took my arms and pulled me up. I hadn't even realized that I'd fallen down.

"You sure? You're worrying too much about heights, and it's making you see things." Shiloh sighed and shook her head back and forth slowly. "You still aren't well."

"I guess not," I muttered, though I was sure that I hadn't been hallucinating, despite my physical condition. "But let's stay away from the cliffs...alright?" I felt a little wash of dismay as Shiloh frowned at me. _She doesn't believe me! _I thought in panic as I gazed at her, wondering how I could convince her that we needed to keep away from the cliffs._ I should have just told her the cliffs were dangerous again! I didn't have to mention that...whatever it was!_

"It'll be fine. Come on. Let's just go back." I watched silently as Shiloh strode off, searched around the rocks for a few seconds, and picked the pearl up. "You need rest and Spoink needs his pearl." When she walked back towards me, she shifted the pearl to her right arm and offered her free paw to me.

"Thanks, Shiloh...I can walk for myself. I'm not dizzy anymore." Shiloh glanced at me, then let go of my arm, and I wasn't sure, but it seemed like she let go too quickly. I looked away from her, feeling a little stab of hurt.

"...I think you went on missions too soon." I glanced around and eyed the cliffs mistrustfully; we were too close to them for my liking. Shiloh continued with a sigh and I gradually turned to face her. "If you're dizzy and seeing things, then you should be resting." I was about to tell her something like I wasn't sick when I heard footfalls crunching against the ground; turning, I saw a Chingling rapidly hopping towards us. It was a really small Pokémon, and I'd underestimated it a bit but the one Shiloh and I had fought earlier had been pretty tough, almost as tough as the Lileep. Or maybe it was because I was just bad at fighting.

The Chingling shoved past me and I clumsily swiped my fists at it, trying to attack, but I wasn't quick enough. Shiloh gasped loudly as the Chingling crashed into her, and as she stumbled sideways she swung her arms, trying to keep her balance and the pearl dropped from her paws and started bouncing along the ground. Shiloh planted her feet and growled as she leaned her head back, and then rammed it forward, giving the Chingling a strong head-butt. The Pokémon swayed for a moment, then crumpled to the ground, and I saw Shiloh turning and dashing for the pink pearl that was still bouncing away towards the cliffs.

"Wait!" I yelled, darting after her, and saw her briefly turn her head before she looked away and kept running. Now I felt real panic come over me. "Shiloh! Come back!" Just before the pearl bounced over the edge and into the water below, Shiloh caught it in both paws and skidded to a halt. I stopped, too, and tried to calm my rapid breathing. "Shiloh, get away from the edge." She turned to me and gave me a frustrated look that morphed to alarm as a cracking sound rent the air. The cliff was breaking up, just the way I'd seen during that dizzy spell, and unless I did something Shiloh would fall!

"Wha—" Shiloh uttered in shock, staring down at the cliff in dismay. I lunged forward and grabbed Shiloh's arms, then pulled her towards me with everything I had. Suddenly I felt the ground quaking beneath my feet and knew that the cliff beneath me was breaking up too. With all my strength, I turned and pushed Shiloh away, then sprang off the crumbling rock towards her, but felt my back legs falling. In panic I grabbed at anything I could and wound up barely clinging to the remaining cliff edge.

I heard light splashes as the broken pieces of the cliff hit the waves, and I kicked my legs, trying to find a grip on the cliff to push myself back onto solid ground, but I couldn't reach. "Gale!" Shiloh yelped, and I felt her grab my arms and start pulling. "Hang on! I've got you!" I heard her grunting with effort as she tugged my arms, and I tried to reach my feet towards the cliff edge so I could climb, but they couldn't reach. My heart was pumping fear through my body, and I seriously thought I would fall, but suddenly I felt Shiloh pulling me towards her. She tugged me upright and I saw her start to run, and she was holding my left wrist, so I ran with her as fast as I could.

A few minutes later I stumbled and tumbled forward onto the ground, and realized that the terrain had changed to a dirt path. We'd made it back onto the path that led to Treasure Town. I collapsed back down, resting my head on my arms, and tried to calm my panicked breathing. I had tried to save Shiloh from falling, but had ended up making it so that we both almost fell. And while falling probably wouldn't have been good, Shiloh could swim. I did a weak push-up and turned around to see that Shiloh was sitting and looking at the sky. Her expression was a little stunned and I didn't blame her. I shook my head and mentally told myself I was being stupid. I couldn't have just let Shiloh fall. She could have gotten hurt before she hit the water, and I wouldn't have been able to do much of anything to help.

"Hey, Shiloh...are you alright?" I asked, concerned, and crawled closer to her. "Did you get hurt?" She glanced at me, still looking a bit dazed, and shook her head.

"No, I'm just scared..." Shiloh gasped, her body shaking. "That was close...way too close..."

"Yeah, it was," I agreed breathlessly, and then, not knowing what else to do, I unbuttoned my satchel, fumbled for an Oran berry, then passed it to her. "Um...do you want one? It might help, even if you're not hurt." Shiloh leaned forward and took it slowly, giving me a weak smile.

"Thank you...I'll be fine...just let me sit here for a bit." I sat back and crossed my legs, and took out an Oran berry for myself. I had eaten one already today, but I was suddenly really hungry, so there was no way I wasn't going to eat it. I'd see if there were any more at the Kecleon Shop when I stopped by to get an apple for Doctor to say thanks for the Oran berries.

"Where's Spoink's pearl? Did I make you drop it?" I asked suddenly, and Shiloh tossed the Oran berry into her mouth and patted her satchel, which I noticed had a bulge in it.

"Nope, it's safe. I put it in my bag after you helped me." Her gaze drifted to the ground. "That was before I knew you were falling too."

"That's fine...we're both okay, and we still have Spoink's pearl." I glanced over at the Chingling but discovered that it wasn't there; it must have run off sometime during the cliff's collapse. "We're almost done with the mission."

"You tried to warn me."

"Huh?" I asked, Shiloh's words a little unclear. She wasn't speaking very loudly and was still looking at the ground. But suddenly Shiloh lifted her gaze and stared at me with a faintly awed expression; I felt a strange, shivering feeling run through me. I didn't like how she was looking at me, somehow, even though she didn't look angry or afraid. "I just couldn't hear you. What did you say?"

"You saved me, Gale..." Shiloh exhaled. "You told me not to go near the cliffs, but I did, and look what almost happened."

"Well," I said, looking at her and lifting my shoulders, "you were trying to get Spoink's pearl."

"No, Gale," she persisted, shaking her head slowly. "You knew that the cliff was dangerous...and that I was going to fall." There was a slightly anxious pause. I held Shiloh's gaze for a second, then looked away uncomfortably. "How did you know that?"

"I don't know," I admitted quietly. "There was that dizzy spell...and then I saw things...I saw the cliff breaking up and you falling with it."

"The dizzy spell..." Shiloh mused breathlessly, eyes wide in wonder, and maybe—but I hoped not—fear. "And the images you saw afterward...you got some kind of vision."

"A vision...it did seem like that..." I trailed off. "I don't know why it happened, though."

"Well...it helped you save me..." Shiloh mumbled, looking ashamed as she wrung her paws, "so I should have listened to you." I shook my head at her and frowned thoughtfully.

"It's easy to say that now...it's just good you didn't fall." I pressed my paws against my forehead, then rose to my feet. "And you saved me, too, so let's just call that even." Shiloh hopped to her feet and twiddled with the strap of her satchel.

"But...the vision...we should try and figure out why you had it!" She burst out. "Maybe someone's heard of Pokémon that can have visions."

"I don't know," I told her, shifting my feet. "I want to figure out why it happened...but I don't really want to tell anyone else." Shiloh looked puzzled as she folded her arms.

"We can't figure it out on our own," she told me, sounding confused, and tilted her head. "I've never heard of it, so I won't be any help. Why don't you want to tell? Chatot might know something."

"No! Not Chatot." I shuddered and shook my head forcefully. "I'm not asking him." Shiloh frowned.

"Who, then?"

"No one."

"If we knew more about how and why it happened," Shiloh persisted, "then visions could come in handy on explorations. We could help more Pokémon."

"Well..." I muttered, then thought for a minute. "How about this: let's wait to see if any more visions happen, and see if we can find a pattern. But if we don't figure anything out on our own after a while, I guess we can tell someone...maybe Callo...but not Chatot."

"I think I know why." Shiloh smiled nervously. "It's because he'd say we were making it up and that he'd never heard of it, or something. He is annoying, isn't he?" I found myself laughing in relief.

"Yeah...so let's just not ask him...and let's not tell anyone for now."

"Why don't you want to?" Shiloh demanded, and I shook my head resolutely.

"Right after I had that vision, you were scared. Wouldn't it scare other Pokémon?" Shiloh's expression became clouded and she folded her arms tightly, stepping back a bit and looking away.

"No, it wasn't scary, just...odd," she protested, but I hadn't mistaken the look in her eyes earlier, and I hadn't imagined her reaction of letting my arm go a little too quickly, either.

"Right," I told her, keeping my voice from sounding troubled. "Anyone would think I was odd. We just signed up at the Guild, and since we're on a team together..." I kicked at a nearby rock and watched it tumble away. "What if other Pokémon bother you because I have visions of bad things happening?"

"Gale," Shiloh mumbled, her face pinched. "The others wouldn't do that."

"Still, who's heard of Pokémon having visions?" I challenged, and Shiloh bit her lip.

"That vision was bad." Her face lit up suddenly. "But it helped you save me. So it wasn't bad after all." Shiloh looked apologetically at me. "I'm not scared...I'm just not used to what you did."

"It's fine," I said, rubbing my neck and looking away. "You're safe and we have Spoink's pearl." I heard Shiloh mumble something, but I didn't look at her or ask her to repeat what she'd said. The sky was still bright, and I guessed that we had been out probably a couple hours. The afternoon sun was making me feel a little drowsy, as well as all the fighting and wandering around we'd done. All I wanted to do now was go back to town and rest, and I bet that Shiloh did, too. "Let's go. We're almost done with the mission."

"Alright," Shiloh mumbled. "Let's go back." We started off on the return trek to Treasure Town, not looking at each other or speaking a word.

* * *

**And things were going well, too. Ah, they'll work it out. They're teammates. And Shiloh's not going to ditch Gale now. She has a lot to teach him about fighting and type matchups, after all. Don't punch any more Rock types, Gale...your fists can't take it.  
In the game, the main character knows special moves right away, but I thought it'd probably take some time to learn how to fight like a Pokémon.  
**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading!**


	4. Meeting

**This chapter was part of the previous one but keeping it like that would have made it too long. I get pretty eager about writing and don't stop to think about breaking the story into chapters. In this chapter I finally introduce the other Guild Members and you can see the names I picked for them. I don't know if I'll give Chatot a name, but probably I will later on. Chatot is Wigglytuff's old friend and he still calls him Guildmaster, so I might just have Wigglytuff be "Guildmaster". Well, that's all from me. Enjoy the chapter! I don't own Pokémon or the Pokémon games. I'll just say that...otherwise I talk forever.**

* * *

**~Meeting~**

An uncomfortable silence held out until Shiloh and I set foot back in town. Wordlessly we headed for the Kecleon Market and found Spoink bouncing around.

"Spoink!" I called, and waved when he turned. His eyes lit up and he began jumping excitedly towards Shiloh and me. When he was a few feet away Shiloh took the pearl out of her satchel and held it out.

"You found it! Thank you!" Spoink cheered. "I thought I'd never get it back!" Shiloh smiled and stretched up onto her toes a little to place the pearl back between Spoink's ears, and the Pokémon spun around a couple times and bounced into the air. "You didn't take long at all!"

"Really?" I asked, and Spoink bobbed his head.

"Yes! I can't thank you enough! Please come with me; I'll give you the reward." As we followed after Spoink, who bounced through small crowds of Pokémon and I noticed a Charmander and Pikachu with pink and blue scarves walking towards us. I caught a bit of their conversation; they were talking about staying in Treasure Town for a while, and I'd listened eagerly, still interested in listening to Pokémon talk. Spoink was headed right for them, though, and didn't seem to notice that he was about to crash into them. "Watch out!" I called to him, and he ground to a halt just in time, and the duo's conversation stopped.

"Sorry," I told them with an apologetic smile and they shook their heads with friendly smiles. Shiloh ushered Spoink around them and waved as she went. The Pikachu was watching me intently, and the Charmander began staring at well once he noticed what his partner was doing. I gave a small wave and moved past them nervously, bringing my focus back to finishing up the mission. Catching up with Shiloh, I muttered to her in an undertone.

"Did you notice? They were staring at us. That Pikachu and Charmander." Shiloh nodded and replied in a quiet tone. "They didn't look mad...but maybe they were."

"If they were mad...well, some teams get competitive." There was a quizzical frown on her face. "I don't know why they were looking at us. Better just ignore them."

"Yeah...I will." I nodded and tried to keep myself from turning and seeing if they were still looking, but was too curious. I turned and glanced around, as if I was looking for something, and saw the Pikachu and Charmander still standing there, but they were turning and walking away now. I sharply looked away when the Pikachu glanced around and swallowed nervously. "Anyway, how much was Spoink's reward again?"

"Two thousand Poké," Shiloh answered promptly. "But we'll only keep two hundred." She sighed, looking disappointed. "The rest goes to the Guild, after all."

"I'll be able to get something for Doctor, though," I said. "Like an apple."

"They're usually around fifty Poké at the Kecleon Market," Shiloh stated, then came to a halt; I stopped too. Spoink had led us to Duskull's bank.

"Could I withdraw 2000 Poké, please?" Duskull turned and floated down to a dark gray chest with a small pink gem embedded in the top. He flipped the lid open and pulled out a gray drawstring pouch. When he floated back and offered it to Spoink, he jumped onto the counter to take it with one of his tiny arms. Spoink waved at Duskull as he hopped off the counter and sprang over to us. Shiloh took the pouch and dropped it into her satchel. Spoink thanked us again and waved, then hopped off, and we followed him back as far as the Kecleon Market.

"Spoink, hold on a minute," Shiloh said. "Did we tell you our names yet?" Spoink stopped bouncing and did a little hop to turn around.

"No, I don't think so," he replied, and I tried to look at Spoink; we were passing the Charmander and Pikachu again. I caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of my eye, and saw that they were occupied with something else now, so I relaxed a bit.

"Well, we should. My name is Shiloh. It was nice to meet you." Spoink bobbed his head cheerfully and looked over at me.

"I'm Gale," I said. "Glad we could help."

"Thank you! I'll tell you my name too." Spoink lowered his head in a quick nod. "I'm Kai."

"Kai," Shiloh said, smiling. "I hope we can see you again."

"I usually come here to shop and talk to Pokémon, so I'm sure we'll be able to meet again." Shiloh and I waved as Kai bounced off towards the entrance of town, and then we focused our attention on going shopping at the Kecleon Market.

"Could I buy an apple and an Oran berry?" I asked, and the green Kecleon nodded and turned to lift open the lid of a large chest. When he turned back and approached me he had a shiny red apple in his paws. I looked Shiloh and she held the drawstring pouch towards me; I opened it and fished around, feeling cold coins against my fingers. I looked at the money I'd dug out and offered them to the Kecleon. "How much?" He peered at my paws and took a gold coin with a silver circle of metal in the middle.

"Sixty Poké," he answered, and handed me the apple after putting the money away in a blue box. I gave the coins I hadn't used to Shiloh and she put them back in the pouch after counting them out. Kecleon took my shoulder as I was leaving the counter. "Don't forget your change," he said helpfully, offering me four shiny brass coins.

"Thanks!" I took the coins, then stepped away from the counter and waited distractedly for Shiloh to buy her things; she got an apple and a pink scarf. She turned and I saw a big grin on her face as she tied the scarf around her neck.

"What's that?" I asked curiously while we headed to see Doctor.

"It's a Pecha scarf. You should get one too sometime. It protects against poison because lots of Pecha berries were used in the dye that makes it pink. "

"How does it keep you from getting poisoned?"

"Over time traces of the Pecha berry in the dye seep out of the scarf. Eventually, the traces build up in my body and give me immunity. Eating a Pecha Berry before getting poisoned does the same thing as a Pecha scarf, but I just like wearing scarves."

"How much was the coin that I gave Kecleon?"

"One hundred Poké, so he gave you forty back for change," Shiloh answered, putting the gray pouch of Poké in her bag again. "The highest coin is worth five hundred Poké. Oh, and before I forget..." She stopped and got the bag of money out again, picked some coins out of it, and handed them to me. I dropped them into my satchel. "There you go. We can shop again some more tomorrow. Right now I want to take a rest."

"Me too," I agreed, and walked beside Shiloh, telling myself to just keep taking another step, and soon we had reached the stairs leading up to the Guild.

"I'm going to give this apple to Doctor. I'll be right back." Shiloh nodded and I took off towards his counter. When I spotted him I called out and ran quickly up to him.

"Doctor! I have something for you to say thanks." I held the apple out, then set it on his counter. Doctor crawled over and put his front legs on the counter.

"This is for me?" He asked, gazing at the apple, and I nodded eagerly.

"Thank you for helping me," I told him, but shuffled my feet awkwardly. For some reason, I'd started feeling nervous. I was still wondering about how I'd ended up so hurt in the first place, and why I couldn't remember...maybe I was nervous because of that...or maybe because I didn't know Doctor all that well and was now talking to him without Shiloh, who knew him better than me. "My injuries are better." Doctor suddenly took the apple with two of his legs and clicked his pincers. It was hard to tell if he was happy; maybe what he'd done with his pincers just now was a Spinarak's version of a smile but it was a little unnverving.

"Thank you. It's good to know you're doing well."

"The Oran berries helped Shiloh, too." I explained what had happened on our exploration, except the part about my vision, and Doctor's shiny black eyes widened.

"I hope neither of you were hurt."

"No," I said quickly with a head shake, "we're fine. We got Spoink his pearl back."

"You completed your first mission," Doctor said approvingly. "That's something to be proud about." He pointed off towards the stairs. "You need to get some rest after a mission like that."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Shiloh most of all." I smiled and waved goodbye as I moved off towards the stairs. "Good night."

"Good night," I heard Doctor call after me as I jogged up the stairs. I turned to wave and saw him walking off towards a nearby tree with the apple in his pincers, and wondered if that's where he lived. Once I was back by the Guild entrance, Shiloh approached me.

"Did he like it?"

"I think so. I told him thanks, and about the mission...except for the vision." Shiloh's face clouded and she turned.

"That was probably good."

"Yeah..." I agreed quietly, then watched as Shiloh hopped onto the grate and called down.

"Diglett, Loudred, it's Shiloh and Gale of Team Seekers! Could you let us in?"

"Sure! We're opening the gate!" Diglett called up to us, and a creaking noise sounded as the portcullis rolled up. Shiloh hurried to the ladder and I followed, but when she stopped just before climbing onto it I nearly bumped into her. When she turned, her expression was so grave that I felt a knot form in my stomach.

"You told the truth about that vision," she began steadily, but was wringing the strap of her bag with both paws, "so maybe...you were telling the truth about having been a human, too?"

"I was telling the truth," I answered reluctantly, but was glad she'd asked; if I fessed up now, despite having lied to Shiloh earlier, maybe she wouldn't be too upset. "I used to be a guy. A human guy, I mean," I corrected myself. Crossing my arms self-consciously, I lowered my head, frowning as I picked my words. "I can't remember anything about why I changed, but I'm definitely not supposed to be a Treecko."

"So...when you talked about your parents earlier..." Shiloh said quietly, "you were making that up. You don't remember anything about them." I looked at her and lowered my head.

"That's right." I couldn't tell if she sounded angry or upset. "I was lying." Kicking at the ground, I mumbled, "Sorry."

"I'm sorry I didn't believe you." We were silent for a moment. I glanced up when Shiloh took my shoulders and saw that she was gazing firmly at me. "I believe you now though. It's hard to believe that you were a human, but you saved my life." She released my shoulders and stepped back. "You can't be bad." I chuckled a little and Shiloh cracked a smile, then turned to the ladder and started to clamber down. I followed soon after and found her waiting at the bottom. "Well, now that I know," Shiloh began, then lowered her voice, "I'm going to help you figure out why you became a Treecko, and why you have..." she was whispering now since there were exploration teams wandering around, "those visions."

"Thanks, Shiloh. I do want to know how it happened."

"Helping you will be _my _thanks to you for saving me." A look of intrigue came into Shiloh's eyes. "I wonder if you helped your human friends like you helped me," Shiloh wondered, and I tried to dig up a memory, but I couldn't think of anything.

"Maybe I'll remember soon," I said, and was surprised by how much I wanted to remember. _There's something important I want to...no, something I have to remember._ It was like I had a word right at the tip of my tongue.

"I think you will," Shiloh said, nodding confidently. She smiled and lifted the money pouch eagerly. "Well, let's go give this money to Chatot and tell him the mission's finished. I think even he won't be able to complain about how we did!"

"He shouldn't," I told her with a grin, starting to feel better.

"Not when he's taking all our hard-earned money." She laughed. "Could you hold this?" She picked out a fistful of coins from the money bag and handed them to me; I took them, trying not to drop any, and walked with Shiloh over to where he was hopping up and down in front of Wigglytuff's room.

"Hey, Chatot!" Shiloh announced, a triumphant note in her voice. Chatot fluffed his feathers up and glared at Shiloh.

"Quiet down! You don't need to yell." I found myself returning his glare, and when his gaze drifted to me, he frowned and sighed. "What is it?"

"We finished the mission, Chatot. We came to give you the reward money."

"Oh!" Chatot looked pleased as he flapped his wings and took the money pouch from Shiloh with his beak. "Well done!" He mumbled around the pouch. "I'll present this to the Guildmaster!" Shiloh and I sighed as he hopped off. I looked at the coins in my paws, then offered them to Shiloh.

"I think having a team fund is a good idea. We can buy items for explorations and save the things we don't need right away with Auntie Kangaskhan."

"Really? Okay! I'm glad you think so. I'll take good care of it. I'm good with money." Shiloh put the money in her pouch. "I'll give it to Duskull tomorrow after we shop." I nodded, and on the way to our rooms, I yawned. "Let's go take a break. I'm exhausted." She flopped heavily down onto her bed of straw once we reached our rooms and I slowly curled up on mine. The straw was soft instead of itchy, so it was actually pretty comfortable. "You know, Gale," Shiloh began softly, "I really hope your memories come back. I want to hear about you as a human and the other people you knew."

"When I remember something, I'll be sure to tell you," I said, but wasn't sure my memories would come back. It had only been a week since I'd met Shiloh on the beach, but it felt longer somehow, like I'd been here a month. That could mean I was homesick, but I couldn't remember anything to be homesick for.

"Don't push yourself. My brother, Catori, got hurt badly a long time ago and lost his memories for a while." I sat up and glanced at Shiloh, interested. She was scuffing at the ground with her feet, though, and her eyes were pained. "He didn't remember me or our parents at first, but after a while he remembered, and eventually got all his memories back."

"That's good." I wanted to ask more about her brother, but bit my lower lip and decided not to. I could tell from the way she'd acted that it was still a hard thing to talk about. Shiloh met my eye. "Maybe a Pokémon hurt you."

"We got attacked a lot when we looked for Spoink's pearl," I recalled. "But...they didn't used to attack like that, did they?" Shiloh shook her head hard.

"No. For the most part, all Pokémon get along. But lately, time has been out of control." She frowned and closed her eyes. "It happened recently. There were lots of tremors, one after the other, and soon after that was when Pokémon started attacking anyone they saw. And for some reason no one can evolve anymore, even if they're strong enough."

"Hmm," I mumbled, wondering if time could ever be fixed. But I yawned and rolled over away from Shiloh, resting my head on my hands. I heard Shiloh yawn sleepily from behind me.

"I hope Loudred doesn't wake us up for supper," she sighed tiredly. "Usually Chimecho just rings his bell and calls everyone. It'd be nice if he could wake us up in the morning."

"No kidding," I agreed sleepily, closing my eyes as I yawned again, and felt myself drifting off. When I woke again, it was a little darker, and the setting sun had streaked the clouds dark red and orange. A couple of twinkling stars were even visible through the window panes. Sitting up, I noticed that I'd rolled over a bit during my nap and wasn't lying on my bed anymore. It had been a good thing after all that I'd moved it away from Shiloh, or else I might have rolled over into her bed. Stretching my arms and legs as I stood up, I noticed that Shiloh was still asleep, but I couldn't see her head, arms, legs, or tail; she'd withdrawn into her shell. It looked like a big shell, but I didn't know how she could fit inside it and be comfortable. I jumped and glanced around as a light chiming noise filtered through the air.

"It's supper, everyone!"

"Shiloh," I said quietly, shaking her brown shell gently, "wake up. It's time for dinner." I stepped back quickly when the brown shell quivered, and watched as Shiloh's arms and legs, tail and head came out of the shell. She yawned loudly and sat up, blinking at me through tired eyes.

"Is it morning?"

"No, it's dinnertime. Chimecho just called."

"Oh...thanks for waking me. Let's go." She rubbed her eyes and stretched, then moved eagerly out into the hall. "I'm really hungry. I hope it's apples and Gummis again."

"What are Gummis?" I asked, catching up with her, holding my stomach as it growled. Oran berries were nice, with kind of sweet taste, but they weren't really good for a whole meal. Shiloh had said that there were apples in field and forest dungeons, and I hoped we'd go to one of those next, since going on an exploration without lunch was rough.

"They're really good!" Shiloh exclaimed eagerly, licking her lips. We were almost to the dining room. "There are lots of different flavors. My favorites are Blue and Sky Gummis." She caught my eye. "I bet you'd like Grass Gummis the most."

"So they're for Grass Pokémon?"

"Yep. And Blue Gummis are the type that Water Pokémon like. Sky Gummis are for Flying types, but they taste good. I had one at dinner a couple days ago." Once inside the large dining area, where a large wooden table with several flat white rocks on top was located, Shiloh ushered me to a spot at the table near the back of the room. Next to that spot, I noticed that there was a mound of hollowed-out wooden bowls with berries, apples, and other colorful objects inside that looked really good to me even though I wasn't too sure what they were. "I usually sit here," Shiloh explained, showing me a spot at the very end of the table. "But if you want to sit here you can."

"It's okay. I'll sit here." The spot I took was to the left of Shiloh's spot, and as I glanced around, I saw that Chimecho was at the entrance to the room, while Loudred, Croagunk and Sunflora were across the table, Loudred across from Shiloh and Sunflora across from me, while Diglett and a Dugtrio were nearest Chimecho. While I studied the room, noting the high ceiling, I heard someone approaching and looked down to see Callo walking up to the spot next to me. A Corphish crawled on his multitude of legs over to where Loudred and Croagunk were sitting.

"Ooh, they have Poffins today, I think..." Shiloh was saying as she sniffed the air. I sniffed too and got the scent of something sweet...and there was a burned smell, too, I noted with unease. But none of the others seemed to be worried about it, and the burned smell was pretty strong.

"Yup, they do!" Callo said happily. "I love those."

"Hey, Callo!" Shiloh walked around me and smiled down at him. "How was your day?"

"Not bad...I almost ate the Sitrus berry Lysa and I were taking to a client," here Callo looked embarrassed, "but we finished the mission."

"Lysa?" I asked together, and Shiloh was just opening her mouth when Sunflora waved at me.

"Eek!" She squeaked, and I looked sharply over at her. Her voice was really high-pitched and she sounded excited. "That's my name. You weren't here when everyone introduced themselves." She smiled over at Callo and put her hands...paws...leaves...on her hips. "You did fine, Callo! Don't worry!" Bidoof smiled and looked down at his plate.

"Where did you go?" I asked interestedly, causing Lysa and Callo glanced towards me.

"We went to Apple Woods to help Pachirisu, our client, and also to get some perfect apples," Lysa explained, swaying back and forth happily. She seemed to have a lot of energy and enthusiasm. "The Guildmaster loves them. They're the tastiest kind. I've had one once and it was one of the best things I'd eaten!"

"It was also a fun exploration," Callo added shyly. "The Apple Woods are always nice to visit."

"Hmm...maybe we can go there soon," Shiloh said with a grin.

"I want to go too," I agreed. "If we went it doesn't sound like we'd be hungry during an exploration."

"I reckon you will," Callo told us, bobbing his head. "All the Guild members go look for perfect apples at one point or another."

"The Guildmaster is so particular about perfect apples," Lysa said ponderously, "so everyone helps find them. It's something Chatot always assigns members to do."

"_Another_ one of his oh-so-important duties?" Shiloh snickered, and we all burst out laughing; Croagunk and Loudred had been deep in a conversation but Loudred jumped up suddenly as we all laughed loudly.

"QUIET!" He screeched, and everyone clapped paws or leaves or pincers over their ears. Dugtrio and Diglett instantly vanished from sight, probably escaping underground. Pressing my paws to my head painfully, I really wished I could do the same. "We CAN'T HEAR with you making this much noise!"

"Eeeeek! And now no one can hear anything either!" Lysa whimpered, trembling as she held her head tightly.

"WHAT?" Loudred shouted at her. "Am I being too LOUD?"

"For Arceus' sake, shut up!" I yelled, holding my head painfully, hoping it wouldn't split open.

"WHAT'D YOU SAY?"

"SHUT UP!" I was trying to yell but couldn't hear myself at all, so I glared at Loudred and mimed zipping my lips, and he seemed to get it but didn't look happy. A flash of color made me turn and tapped Shiloh's arm and pointed; Chatot had just showed up and was flapping his wings while hopping up and down.

"Everyone, please!" He pleaded, then turned to Loudred with a disapproving glare. "Loudred! You're too noisy! Be silent!"

"Hmph..." The Pokémon grumbled, crossing his arms sourly.

"Don't behave this way when the Guildmaster gets here! If you do, he'll..." I watched, bewildered, as everyone cringed and slumped over their plates. "Now who's going to help Chimecho bring the food in?" I raised my arm immediately, as did Shiloh and Croagunk. Lysa quickly raised both of her leaves into the air and scampered from the room, not waiting for Chatot to call on her. "Very well. Come with me." I followed Shiloh from the room and was about to leave the room when I tripped on something and fell forward into her.

"Sorry!" I exclaimed while rolling over to see what I'd tripped over. Diglett had popped up from the dirt floor and was glancing around in trepidation, his black eyes wide. A moment later Dugtrio popped up too and scanned his eyes around the room.

"Is everything okay now?" Diglett asked timidly, shaking.

"Uh...yeah...I think so," I answered. Standing up I turned slowly around and saw Shiloh picking herself up. "Sorry, Shiloh." She turned with a smile.

"It's okay." I caught a glimpse of Chatot as we left the room and saw him shaking his feathered head. I prayed that I wouldn't cause any more accidents as I carried a medium-sized plate with apples and some various flavored poffins back into the dining room, and thankfully managed to deposit it at the head of the table. Shiloh, Croagunk and Sunflora carried three more plates in and set them carefully on the table. After that everyone got back in their spots and started taking things from the serving plates. I did the same and eventually had two small apples, a green Gummi and a burned poffin. Chatot raised his wings.

"Let's thank Chimecho for making another good meal!"

"Thank you!" I called with the rest of the table, and Chimecho smiled. Chatot approached his own plate and with that, everyone began eating. I decided to eat the burned poffin first, pulling it apart to see if it was burned all the way through, and it turned out that it had a little bit inside that wasn't burned. I didn't want to ignore it, though, and I was really hungry so I took a tentative bite and chewed slowly. It tasted a bit like Oran berries but for the most part it had a charred flavor. Go figure. Setting the poffin back down, I picked up the green Gummi and chewed a bit off the end. It tasted like what I guessed a leaf would taste like, but interestingly it wasn't bad. Biting into the Gummi again, I decided it was because I wasn't a human anymore.

"So, Gale," Loudred spoke through a mouthful of apple, talking at a normal volume for once, "how do you like the Guild?" It took me a while to respond; I'd thought Loudred had asked someone else, but I was the only one who hadn't been at dinner for a couple days.

"I like it so far," I responded, trying to focus on my plate and not the chewed apple that I'd glimpsed in Loudred's mouth.

"You've missed dinner," he observed with narrowed eyes. "Everyone's gotten to know Shiloh, but not you. Why didn't you show up?"

"Leave it." Shiloh rose her voice warningly, putting her half-eaten Poffin on her plate. "I already told you why."

"You said he wasn't feeling well, but not why," Loudred said with a sly grin, and Shiloh glowered darkly at him.

"I don't care why," Croagunk said with a low, somewhat unnverving chuckle. "It's not important. Let's introduce ourselves now. My name is Phyllo. Nice to meet you."

"Yeah...nice to meet you," I told him. Shiloh cracked a smile and I nodded in response to Phyllo.

"Mind telling us a bit about yourself?" Loudred cut in, his elbows on the table. "Like I said, no one knows much about you." I choked a little on my bite of apple and glanced down the table; Callo, Lysa and Croagunk looked interested, but the rest of the table appeared to be out of earshot because they continued on with their meals and conversations without a glance in my direction.

"He doesn't have to talk about it, Ran," Callo told Loudred sharply, but I sighed and gave him an appreciative smile, then switched my gaze to Loudred.

"Thanks, Callo, but I don't mind." I shrugged. "Might as well explain now so he doesn't keep asking." Callo and Shiloh gave me looks of worry, while Lysa, Phyllo and Ran watched me curiously with slight frowns. "I can't tell you," I stated firmly while looking straight at Ran.

"What do you mean? Why not?" Ran questioned sharply.

"Because I can't remember anything." Lysa gave a quiet gasp, while Ran's eyes widened slightly in confusion. Croagunk's wide grin was in place like usual so I wasn't sure what he thought about me. Telling them about my amnesia was as far as I'd go for now. They didn't have to know about my visions or my being a human yet.

"Amnesia, huh...that sounds bad, heh." Phyllo shook his head. "Maybe something at my Swap Shop will help you."

"Amnesia...eeek." Lysa wrapped her leaves around herself and shivered. "That sounds awful."

"Well, to be honest," I explained, "I haven't really felt upset." That was true; there was just that odd sensation of knowing I had something important to do, and that was more of a slight annoyance than anything since nothing had come to me.

"Why not?" Ran demanded. "I'd HATE to lose my memories!" Lysa frowned disapprovingly at Ran.

"If you lost your memories, maybe you wouldn't yell so much."

"Maybe not...hey, what?" Ran gaped, then stared angrily at Lysa. "You want me to lose my memories?"

"No!" She protested awkwardly, clasping her leaves together as she smiled tightly. "It would just be nice if you were quieter sometimes."

"Gale...if any of us can do something to help, just let us know anytime." Callo smiled up at me, his eyes hopeful. "We'd be glad to."

"Thanks!" Shiloh exclaimed. "That'd be great! I know Gale will get his memories back, but he needs help until then." There was a collective nod from Lysa, Callo, Phyllo and Ran; I swallowed heavily, unsure of what to say to them, so I quietly went back to eating.

"Do you know...how you got amnesia?" Lysa asked hesitantly, wringing her leaves together.

"Not really," I admitted, and finished the Grass Gummi before explaining. "Shiloh found me on the beach the day that we joined the Guild. I didn't remember anything before that."

"Well, don't worry too much," Ran stated firmly. "Just focus on your exploration work."

"And let us know if you need anything!" Lysa added cheerfully. It was nice they all were concerned, but I suddenly felt that maybe explaining I had amnesia hadn't been the best idea. Shiloh nudged me in the side and I glanced at her.

"It's okay, Gale," she said to me. "I think it was better to tell everyone."

"Yup, it was!" Callo beamed at Shiloh and me. "Because we're your Guildmates, you two, and we'll help whenever you need it."

"Even though we're not on teams together," Lysa chimed in, "we will still help each other. Sometimes different teams go on explorations together." Ran and Phyllo nodded in agreement.

"Well...I can't think of anything now," I told them at length, "but if I do...I'll bring it up." _Maybe._ This seemed to assure them and we all finished eating while we talked about missions and hidden dungeons and Chatot's funny behavior. Despite the way the others teased him, though, I got the sense that it was because they liked him, even though he was pretty annoying sometimes. Ran leaned back, patted his stomach, and sighed.

"That was good...but now I'm sleepy." Lysa giggled, both leaves covering her face.

"You always eat too much and get tired." Loudred stood and yawned, stretched his arms up towards the ceiling.

"Can you blame me?" He yawned again, then stood when everyone rose and left the dining hall. Shiloh and I left too, joining the little procession that headed down to the dorm rooms. "Chimecho's meals are really good." Chimecho had just hovered past and he smiled at Loudred, lowering his head gratefully.

"I'm glad you think so!" He said, laughing. Loudred grinned as Chimecho waved and floated off. Lysa and Callo stopped in the hall with the guild members' rooms and headed for an opening on the right.

"Here's our room," she announced sleepily, and Callo barely managed to stifle a loud yawn. "See you all tomorrow." Callo waved and followed Ran into their room, while Lysa and Chimecho headed into their room on the left of the hall, across from Ran and Callo's.

"Night, Callo," Shiloh called, then headed down the corridor. I didn't see anyone else in the hall; they must have gone to bed already. I stopped and looked back before I walked to the end of the hall and saw Corphish trundling into the room where Ran and Callo were. I hesitated, then took a step towards him, but before I could ask what his name was he'd quickly walked into the dorm room. Ran would be waking us up early again tomorrow, probably, so I was glad we'd gotten a little nap earlier. As soon as I curled up in my straw bed I felt myself drifting to sleep. I heard Shiloh talking to me but was too tired to answer, and soon I didn't hear anything else from her and decided she had fallen asleep. My last thoughts before I fell asleep gave me a feeling of anticipation.

_Where will we explore tomorrow? I wonder if I'll have another vision..._

* * *

**I have no idea how Pecha Scarves and things officially work—I'm not even sure there is an official explanation—but I realized I had to make one up. It might sound weird but I got a rubber bracelet the other day, and it said that the chemicals in it could cause cancer and birth defects (I don't want to wear it now). I guess the chemicals can go into my skin or something (that's where I got the idea for the Pecha scarf, except the scarf has a good effect). It's a little sad about the bracelet I got because it's a breast cancer awareness bracelet.**

**Sooo, anyway...did anyone notice the mysterious staring Pikachu and Charmander in this chapter? They weren't being creepy and they weren't calling out Team Seekers either. They will be making more appearances and will have something important to do.**

**I really liked naming the Guild members, but most of all I liked naming Spinarak 'Doctor'. If he'd been a Noctowl, and I'd named him Doctor Who, that would have been funny because his name is like the sound owls make. Ha ha...get it?**

**Haha...yeah...by the way, I answered "yes" to the question in Mystery Dungeon Blue about liking groan-inducing puns. :3 Thanks for reading!**


	5. Outlaw

**I seem to be really distracted these days. I uploaded chapter four, and then chapter four again for the chapter five. Whoops. But I got it sorted out thanks to Rosalietje.**  
**Enjoy the—actually correct—chapter! :) It should make a lot more sense now.**

* * *

**Outlaw**

"I swear, if Ran keeps waking us up like that, I'm going to yell right back," Shiloh grumbled furiously as we trudged sleepily down the stairs towards the square.

"Yah-huh...me too," I murmured, rubbing my eyes while I yawned. It had been a couple days since we'd returned Spoink's pearl, and we'd done a handful of missions where we escorted various Pokémon through the drenched bluff so they could meet a friend, and we'd retrieved some lost items for clients. I'd gotten a little better at explorations, and somewhat better at fighting, but still hadn't been able to use any special attacks. Shiloh had kept that quiet from the others, even Callo, and I was grateful for that. She hadn't even had to be asked; I wondered if she had also thought I'd be laughed at by some of our Guildmates if they knew I couldn't use any special moves. Shiloh was trying to teach me how to use moves, explaining the way she had to concentrate to use a move, but it wasn't going well so far. Maybe since I had once been human it wouldn't be possible.

"Hey, Gale, could you go to the Kecleon Market and buy some apples and Oran berries? I'm going to get some items from storage."

"Sure, I'll go," I agreed, and waved as Shiloh strode off to see Auntie Kanghaskan. We'd been able to get a good collection of Oran berries, Pecha berries, apples and even a couple of Sitrus berries in our storage, but we picked up useful things at the Kecleon Market whenever we had enough money so we wouldn't risk getting in a tight spot during a mission. Thanks to the past few explorations, even though we gave most of the Poké to the Guild, we'd saved up a lot.

"Good morning!" I stepped up to the counter as the green Kecleon greeted me.

"Hi!" I responded quickly, in a pretty good mood despite being woken up suddenly and too early. "How's it going?"

"Not bad. Business is always a little slow in the morning." The purple Kecleon was talking now. "But we get a chance to talk to customers."

"If there's one thing we pride ourselves on," the green Kecleon brother chimed, "it's our ability to get to know our customers better." I nodded, then took the money bag out of my satchel. "What can we do for you?"

"Could I buy two Oran berries and two apples, please?" The green brother turned and opened a chest that was sitting behind him.

"We refilled our stock this morning. Wait just a moment." He turned around and was cradling the Oran berries and apples in his arms, and carefully placed them on the counter while I rummaged through the money pouch for the necessary Poké, and eventually fished out two hundred Poké and offered it to Kecleon.

"Thank you so much!" He exclaimed, and turned to put the money away in another, smaller chest beside the first one.

"Sure!" I stuffed the berries and apples into my satchel along with the money pouch; it was a tight fit, but it worked for the most part.

"So," the purple Kecleon asked, "are you and Shiloh off on a mission today?"

"Well, not yet," I replied. "We need to go accept some more. Thanks for the..."

"Excuse me! Misters Kecleon!" The brothers chuckled and glanced down the path where the voices had come from. I turned and saw a round blue Pokémon, his black zig-zag tail with a blue orb on the end bouncing behind him. Another Pokémon similar to him but bigger was running after him.

"I believe that is little Azurill," the green Kecleon said with a smile. "His brother Marill probably isn't far behind." Azurill bounced to a stop in front of the shop counter and I stepped back a couple paces, watching as Marill strode up beside the little guy. "What can we do for you today?"

"May we please have two apples?" Azurill asked in a slightly squeaky voice. Marill beamed at the smaller Pokémon.

"Of course! Just wait a moment." Kecleon turned and pulled the apples out of the item chest, put them in a cloth bag, and handed it to Marill, who slung the strap over his head. "Here you are." Marill stepped up and handed the purple Kecleon some money, and he promptly put it inside the money box.

"Thank you," Marill told them gratefully, and Azurill glanced at his brother, then at me.

"Thank you!" He smiled brightly up at the Kecleon brothers, then turned and began to hop off.

"Wait!" I called, noticing a small rock in the path, but I'd warned him too late. He gave a startled squeak as he tripped tumbled forward, bumping into Marill, who stumbled and dropped the bag. An apple rolled out of the bag towards me. I grimaced, hoping the Azurill wasn't hurt, then walked towards him. I bent to pick the apple up, then stood and saw Marill slinging the bag over his shoulder again.

"Sorry about that!" Marill apologized, looking embarrassed, and I put the apple back into the bag. "Thank you, um..."

"Gale," I told him, and he smiled.

"Gale. Thanks. My name is Crest, and this is my little brother Yuki."

"Nice to meet you," Yuki said with a cheerful smile. "Thanks for helping us!"

"No problem," I said, looking down at him.

"You're an apprentice at the Guild, right?" Crest asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah, I am, and Shiloh is the leader of Team Seekers."

"We have to go home," Crest said, "but we'll probably be back in Treasure Town sometime."

"We shop a lot here," Yuki stated. Crest smiled and patted the Azurill's head, then turned and set off with Yuki.

"Those brothers are really admirable," the green Kecleon said. "They do the shopping for their mother, who became sick a while ago. They've taken on a lot of responsibility without being asked, even though they're so young."

"Sick?" I asked. "Could Doctor help her?"

"He's been to see her already," the purple Kecleon explained, "and given her medicine, and now she just needs to rest and recover."

"Ah, yes...we've told them our names," the green Kecleon explained, "but they insist on calling us that."

"Not that it's a bad thing," the other brother chuckled. "They've become regulars here, since they have to do the shopping, and they're always so polite and kind."

"Yeah."

"By the way, we haven't told you our names yet," the green Kecleon said.

"I'm called Ezra," the purple Kecleon stated, then glanced at his brother.

"And I'm Leon," he offered, nodding his head once.

"I'm Gale," I said, and Ezra nodded.

"We know you and Shiloh. You're getting to be regulars here, too."

"It's always nice to talk to the apprentices at Wigglytuff's Guild," Leon put in. I smiled, then turned around to look for Shiloh, but suddenly felt light-headed. I tried to shake my head but the dizziness just got stronger and I held the shop counter for support.

"Are you alright?" I heard Ezra exclaim, sounding concerned. The dizzy sensation was familiar...exactly the same as the dizzy spell at the drenched bluff. A burst of light filled my head and I ground my teeth as a loud cry rent the air.

"_H-h-...help!"_

I glanced around wildly, noticing that the Kecleon brothers looked alarmed, but I ignored them for the moment. There was a Bulbasaur, Shinx and Totodile walking around, as well as a Persian, Growlithe and a Zorua, but none of them looked even a bit worried. I whirled towards Ezra and Leon and saw that they had similar wide-eyed looks of alarm. "Did you hear anything just now? Like a scream?" I glanced around frantically but still didn't see anyone who might be in trouble.

"No, I'm sorry...I didn't hear anything," Leon replied, still looking shocked as he turned to Ezra. "Did you?"

"I didn't either," he admitted, and let out a sigh. "And if it was a scream like you say, I'm sure we would have."

"Gale! I'm back!" The three of us jumped and turned quickly to see Shiloh rushing up with a smile. "Sorry to keep you waiting!" She frowned and glanced at me, then over at the Kecleon brothers. "What's going on?"

"Gale says he heard a scream," Leon explained anxiously, "but we didn't hear anything." Shiloh's eyes widened.

"You did? Just now?" I nodded uneasily, glancing around, but when I didn't hear anything else I looked back at Shiloh.

"It was...that," I told her in a quiet voice, and her face became serious.

"Okay," she whispered, then turned to Ezra and Leon. "Gale kind of has an imagination. He hears things sometimes. Don't worry about it." She smiled cheerfully and waved at the Kecleon brothers, and they returned the gesture after exchanging a worried glance. I groaned quietly. "We'd better go! We have explorations to do."

"You two have a good day!" Leon called, waving. "Good luck on your missions!"

"Thank you!" Shiloh called back, then pulled on my arm and rushed off. When we'd left the shops behind she drew me to the side of the path and leaned close.

"So you had a vision?" She asked, looking at me steadily. "What did you see?"

"I didn't see anything this time. I heard someone calling for help," I replied. "It sounded like Yuki." Shiloh frowned and crossed her arms.

"Crest's little brother?"

"Yeah, that's him." I glanced around Shiloh as I heard nearby voices and pointed. "I just met them at the market. There they are. They're with that Drowzee." Shiloh turned and followed where I was pointing.

"I see them here a lot. Wonder what they're doing," she said, looking at the bipedal Pokémon who was with them. The top half of his body was tan and his legs were brown, and his nose was a medium-length trunk. "Maybe they're friends." Shiloh shrugged once and approached them, leaving me to follow, and I did. Once we got closer, it was easier to make out their conversation.

"Thank you so much!" Crest was exclaiming happily, and Yuki was bouncing up and down.

"Oh, it's nothing," the Drowzee laughed. "I wouldn't say no to helping kids."

"Thanks!" Yuki chirped as he bounced up and down.

"Hi, there," Shiloh announced, coming to a halt just behind Drowzee, who turned sharply when she spoke. "What's going on, you three?"

"Well, we were talking with Mr. Drowzee about rare items, and he said that he may have seen an item we lost!" Yuki was still bouncing up and down, obviously very excited. "He's going to help us find it!"

"It's a water float," Crest explained. "It's an item for Azurill, Marill, and Azumarill. It'd be great if we could find it."

"That does sound neat! I'm jealous." Shiloh laughed. "I hope you find it."

"Yeah, yeah!" Yuki exclaimed. "Thank you, Mr. Drowzee!"

"Don't worry about it, kid," Drowzee chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Do you want to go look for it now?"

"We need to get the apples home first," Yuki said, "but after that we'll go." He glanced around at Crest. "Is that okay?" His brother nodded approvingly.

"That's fine," Crest agreed. "We can explain to mom what we're doing after we see if she's feeling okay."

"I won't keep you out too long if you have to get back home," Drowzee said. "It's starting to get late."

"Right. We'd better go." Crest tapped Yuki's shoulders and he began hopping along after his older brother. Drowzee followed and I stepped back to move as he walked towards me, but felt Drowzee brush past me. He stopped abruptly and turned.

"Excuse me," he said apologetically, lowering his head a bit. "I didn't mean to bump into you."

"That's okay," I told him, shaking my head. "See you later!" Yuki and Crest waved, and Drowzee nodded farewell and strode off after the brothers.

"Well, he seemed nice for helping them, huh?" Shiloh asked, and her expression sounded so doubtful that I turned towards her. She was frowning after Drowzee, and I felt a little uneasy seeing her that serious.

"Yeah, he seemed nice...but is something the matter?" I asked, scuffing my feet against the ground. "You sound worried."

"Well...it's just a feeling I had...I don't know if anything's really wrong."

"Should we go check on them?" Shiloh shook her head back and forth.

"No...we should get back to the Guild," Shiloh said, shaking her head once as if brushing away a thought. "Chatot wanted us to hurry back."

"Oh yeah." I remembered Chatot flapping his wings impatiently when we told him we had to go get some items from town. "We'd better go, you're right." I turned and walked along the path, but stopped almost immediately, stumbling heavily as another dizzy spell came over me. "Not again," I groaned, gripping my head, and ground my teeth as a flash of light covered my vision. The images that flew by right after were almost too quick to process, but I managed to get a glimpse of two Pokémon standing in a large cave with rocks scattered here and there. With a jolt of realization, I recognized one of them: Yuki. The vision ended before I could see who the second one was, but I heard them talking to each other.

"_Stop whining like that! Just do what I say!"_

"_H-h-...help!"_

I staggered back as the vision ended and heard Shiloh exclaim as I bumped into her.

"You okay? What happened?" I felt her paws on my shoulders, steadying me, and I turned slowly, hoping the dizziness was over. Shaking my head a couple times I let out a breath, then met her eyes.

"It was a vision again, but I saw Yuki in a cave, or somewhere, and he looked scared. He was with someone else, but I don't know who..."

"What were they doing?" Shiloh questioned sharply, her eyes concerned.

"The other Pokémon was threatening him, and Yuki yelled for help."

"You said you heard Yuki's voice earlier," Shiloh noted, and I nodded urgently.

"Yeah, it was him this time too!" I turned to run off, but Shiloh grabbed my right arm, which had completely healed by now. I hardly even noticed the scar anymore, and the pain was gone. The rest of my injuries had recovered too and explorations were a lot easier because of that. I struggled to pull out of Shiloh's grip. "What are you doing? We have to go!"

"I agree, something's wrong, but we don't know where Yuki is." I turned and she let go of my arm, then tapped a foot and crossed her arms thoughtfully. "We should help, but we need to find out about the situation. Let's not panic." I nodded, knowing she was making sense. "Come on. Let's see if they're still in town." We walked quickly along the path and came to the edge of town but couldn't see Drowzee, Yuki or Crest anywhere. "They've already gone," Shiloh sighed. "Let's go talk to Chatot and tell him what's going on." We shared a nod and rushed up the steps and into the Guild, then down the two ladders and over to Chatot. He must have heard us approaching—we weren't trying to be quiet, though—and whirled on us.

"You took your time," he scolded loudly, flaring his wings, and the three Poochyena that made up Team Poochy glanced over quizzically as they passed. "I've got a new mission for you today. Come here." He hopped off up the ladder, and we had no choice but to follow and try to explain at the same time.

"Chatot, hang on. We have something important to tell you!"

"Well, just wait!" Chatot squawked, coming to a halt in front of a bulletin board that was near Chimecho's assembly desk. Now, in addition to cooking meals, he was in charge of the Pokémon that teams recruited in dungeons. We hadn't recruited any new team members yet, but Shiloh was eager to get new teammates. I hoped we could, too, since I wanted to meet new Pokémon.

"It can't wait," I protested loudly, but knew as soon as I opened my mouth that Chatot would give me his signature look of disapproval, and I wasn't let down: Chatot's eyes narrowed and he frowned deeply.

"Gale, just listen for a moment," Chatot shook his head and lifted his right wing to the bulletin board. "When you went to the drenched bluff, the job was from the board on the other side of the room, but this is the Outlaw Bulletin Board."

"Outlaw?" Shiloh and I echoed in unison, and Chatot lowered his wing.

"Exactly. There are bad Pokémon out there, even more these days because of time going out of control, so exploration teams have decided to start going after them. Officer Magnezone brings information in about criminal Pokémon every day."

"Are you sure we could capture one?" Shiloh asked, then straightened up and shrugged. "Not that I wouldn't want to try, but aren't bad Pokémon strong?"

"They are," Chatot agreed, "but not all the outlaws here are downright bad. Some have just taken wrong turns. They aren't bad all the way through, but do need to be dealt with. Others, however, are true criminals." He turned and pulled a leaflet from the bulletin board. "You'll start off easy. Take a look at this poster." Chatot held the paper out in both wings and together Shiloh and I scanned the page. I still couldn't make out many of the footprint runes, since Shiloh had her paws full teaching me fighting and managing our team, but I didn't need to read anything. The picture on the poster caught my attention and said more than the runes ever could.

"Shiloh...is that the same one, do you think?" I asked her in dismay. "If he's the same one, then..."

"Then you were right." Shiloh spoke in a hushed voice.

"We were right," I corrected. "You thought something was wrong too."

"Yep...we've got a problem." Shiloh whipped the paper from Chatot, quickly folded it, and slipped it inside her satchel. "We accept the job! Thanks, Chatot!" Without a word of explanation we dashed for the ladder and left the Guild as fast as we could. Once at the bottom of the stone steps, I almost crashed right into Crest, who yelped and jumped out of the way just in time. I spun around and saw right away that he looked worried.

"Crest!" Shiloh yelled as she ground to a halt beside him. "Where's Yuki?" Crest shook his head and wrung his paws distractedly.

"I was with Yuki and Mr. Drowzee on Mt. Bristle, but I turned around to look at something I thought was the water float, and when I turned back Yuki and Mr. Drowzee were gone. I don't know if they got lost, or what, but I'm really worried." He shook his head and lowered his eyes guiltily. "I got lost after that and came back to town to ask for help."

"That was the right thing to do!" Shiloh exclaimed, and rushed past Crest, who looked after her with a startled expression.

"Wh-what? What's the matter?" He whipped around towards me. "Has something happened? Please, tell me!"

"Gale!" I heard Shiloh yell and was about to dart off when Crest stopped me.

"Wait! If something's wrong, I want to help!"

"Um...alright! But hurry! I'll explain!" Crest nodded urgently and we set off, with Crest keeping a good pace beside me. "Shiloh and I took a job catching an outlaw Pokémon, and it was Drowzee. We think it's the same one that was with Yuki."

"With Yuki!?" Crest panted frantically as we ran after Shiloh. "No! That means he's in danger!"

"But we'll help him! It may be the same Drowzee, it may not be...but the fact is that we're going to help your brother now." Crest nodded miserably, then looked at me with a more determined expression.

"I'm watching after Yuki. I won't let anything happen to him." We had been running for quite a ways, now, and up ahead I saw Shiloh come to an abrupt stop. Past her, I saw a long mountain range stretching out along the plains that we'd come to. Behind me, Pokemon Square was too far to see, and I could barely make out the drenched bluff. "This is Mt. Bristle!" Crest exclaimed. "Let's go! Oh, please, let Yuki be alright."

"He'll be fine," I assured Crest firmly, then gestured for him to follow. "But we need to keep going."

"R-right...I'll show you where I lost them." Shiloh and I could only follow in silence as Crest struggled to remember the path he, Yuki and Drowzee had taken earlier. After a couple dead ends and more wrong turns, Crest stopped dead when he reached a towering cliff. He pointed up at it. "That's where I lost them! I was up there!"

"Let's go this way," Shiloh commanded, indicating a small ramp formed from rocks off to our left. "We'll make it." Crest scrambled after her and rushed up the ramp, overtaking Shiloh quickly, and now we had to hurry to catch up with him. As we cleared the ramp and climbed over a couple boulders, Crest stopped and met my eyes.

"Did you hear that?" I shook my head and listened hard; I could hear something, and it was coming from around a corner that veered to the right in front of us. Crest approached Shiloh and me quietly. "It's Yuki...he's nearby."

"Let's go, then," Shiloh said in an undertone, and we followed her, making sure not to trip over or accidentally kick any rocks that would make noise. We peeked around the corner and watched for a moment.

"Only you can fit through that hole and get the treasure on the other side," Drowzee was saying in a slightly impatient tone, while Yuki sniffled and shook his head. "After you get the treasure I'll take you back."

"No! I want to go now! I want my brother!" Yuki cried and dodged swiftly around Drowzee, who managed to cut the little guy off and block his way forcefully.

"Come on! I said I'd take you back!" Yuki began wailing loudly, and Drowzee snapped furiously. "Stop whining like that! Just do what I say!"

"H-h-...help!" Yuki cried, cowering away from Drowzee, and I saw a flash of blue as Crest dashed out into the open. Shiloh and I quickly followed and in seconds we had Drowzee surrounded; Crest had positioned himself between Drowzee and his brother, while Shiloh and I were waiting behind him.

"Stop it, Drowzee!" Shiloh growled, causing him to whip around in dismay. "How dare you bother a little kid!"

"I just needed him to look for treasure!" Drowzee shouted hotly. "I can't get it!"

"You think we care about your treasure?" I yelled. "He's obviously scared!" Drowzee snorted in annoyance and turned slowly, approaching Crest and Yuki. "Hey! Don't move!" I shouted and charged Drowzee, but he whirled around quickly, raised both his hands in a club, and slammed them downward. I stopped, but was too late to avoid the attack, and felt a bursting pain in the top of my head. Stumbling backward, I saw that my vision was starting to grow dark, but dimly made out Drowzee turning back towards Crest and Yuki again.

"Gale! You okay!?" I heard Shiloh call. "You'll pay for that, Drowzee," she growled, and I shook my head, trying to clear it, and willed myself not to pass out.

_He's strong...I have to help. _My head was throbbing, but I could see a little clearer now and shook the sparks of light from my eyes as I approached Shiloh, who had shot a water gun towards Drowzee. Crest had picked Yuki up and was running away from them both. _I want to help but I can't use any special moves..._

"I'll help!" Crest yelled before tucking his head and rolling towards Drowzee, who glanced over and dodged out of the way. I took a breath and decided to run in while he was distracted and, for lack of any better ideas or attacks, raised my right arm and punched Drowzee's head with all my might. Drowzee grunted and turned quickly, smacking me with his left arm. I fell flat on my back and saw Drowzee leaning over me, raising both of his paws this time instead of forming them into fists.

"I'm not sure what that was supposed to be," he chuckled, "but it didn't really hurt." I tried to scramble back, but as I stared up at Drowzee, I suddenly began to feel sleepy.

"Gale! Don't look! It's hypnosis!" I heard Shiloh cry from somewhere, but it was getting harder to hear and to keep my eyes open. I saw a faint smirk appear on Drowzee's face, but his smug expression changed when Shiloh hit him with a water gun. I felt wide awake suddenly and leapt to my feet.

_Come on!_ I urged myself. _I have to use a special attack! _Again I rushed Drowzee, but instead of making my paws into fists, I grabbed Drowzee's shoulders with both paws and concentrated. Shiloh had mentioned that I should be able to use absorb, so I decided to try it. I didn't know how, but if I tried to concentrate, maybe I could use absorb. For a few seconds nothing happened and I was about to let go and move away, since Drowzee was turning to face me, but my paws suddenly grew hot and started to tingle. Drowzee grunted in surprise and turned sharply, jostling me free, but I felt strangely energized and my head didn't hurt anymore. My head was also clearer than it had been. Staring at my paws, I wondered if I'd used an attack, but didn't have time to wonder. Drowzee was advancing on me, and I jumped back and ran around him as fast as I could. He turned and lunged for me, but I leapt out of the way with time to spare. I grinned breathlessly, then glanced at Drowzee confidently, knowing now that I could avoid him. "What's the matter? Just come up and get me!"

"Shut up!" I took a second to search for Shiloh and Crest, and saw them running towards each other. They stopped and nodded, then faced Drowzee and took deep breaths. I noticed Drowzee was changing position constantly, and even though he was a little slow, I knew he had to be still for Shiloh and Crest to get a good shot. So, as quick as I could, I charged Drowzee and rammed into him with all the strength I could muster, and felt him staggering back. I grabbed his arms and tried to use the same attack as before. "You'll get it now," I heard the Pokémon growl threateningly, and I gasped as Drowzee gripped both arms around me, driving the air from my lungs.

"Now!" Shiloh yelled, and a moment later I felt Drowzee stumbling forward as twin water guns hit him. I tried to struggle free but was still caught in a strong grip. It seemed like Drowzee was going to fall forward and crush me, but I felt him staggering sideways, and his grip finally loosened. I hurriedly pushed away from Drowzee, then backed up a few steps and charged him. Ramming into him, I winced as my right shoulder was jarred, and I tumbled head over heels a couple times. Shakily getting to my feet, I prepared to face an attack, but relaxed. Drowzee was lying facedown on the rocky ground, not moving a bit.

"We did it," Crest breathed, looking amazed and shocked at the same time. "We got him!" I grunted and leaned forward, paws on knees, took a deep breath and let it out in a rush. Glancing around, I spotted a flash of blue hopping towards us.

"You were great!" Yuki cheered, bumping happily into Crest, who turned and picked him up in a tight hug. "I was so scared, but you saved me! Thank you!" Crest smiled awkwardly as he patted Yuki's head.

"I didn't...really do much...you were in trouble, so I helped. I'd never let you get hurt. But you must have been scared." He sighed and lowered his head, setting Yuki down gently, looking guilty now. "I'm sorry I got lost."

"But you were great!" Yuki beamed happily at Crest. "You're strong! I want to be like you even more now." Crest's eyes widened in surprise, and he opened his mouth halfway, then closed it as he smiled and hugged Yuki to his chest.

"We should get out of here," Shiloh announced, stepping closer to Yuki and Crest, who looked at her and nodded. "Let's all stand close together, or else some of us may get left behind." She unpinned the white-winged badge from her Pecha scarf. I took Drowzee under the arms and managed to drag him over to where Shiloh, Yuki and Crest had gathered. Yuki cringed away from Drowzee, and Crest patted his head and shielded his brother from the unconscious Drowzee. "You hold yours up too, Gale, just in case," Shiloh instructed, and I unpinned my badge and held it high above my head at the moment Shiloh lifted hers high over her own head. The badges began to glow and I felt a tingling sensation spread over my body, and I was startled as a flash of white covered my vision. I closed my eyes tightly and shook my head, and when I opened them again, the five of us were standing just inside Treasure Town.

"Whoa," I said in awe. "They really took us back." Shiloh pinned her badge back onto her scarf and I fastened mine, too, then bent to pick up Drowzee. "We need to tell Chatot we're done."

"Yeah," Shiloh agreed. "And he'll call Officer Magnezone to come get Drowzee. You two come with me." She gestured to Yuki and Crest, who were waiting nearby while they chatted to each other. Yuki seemed to be calming down and getting over what had happened; he was smiling and Crest was smiling back. "They should stay in the Guild until Officer Magnezone takes Drowzee. You watch him, Gale."

"Actually, I might not be the best one to do that."

"You'll be fine!" Shiloh interjected sharply, putting both paws on her hips. "If he wakes up just knock him out again." I wondered if she was testing me again. "He's weakened so it'll be easy."

"Okay, then..." I told her a little uneasily as I glanced down at Drowzee. I hoped he wouldn't wake up. He had been beaten up pretty badly after all. Shiloh seemed to think that I could take him alone, but I wasn't sure. I shrugged and decided that I wouldn't let him get away, no matter what. He might try to force some other Pokémon find treasure for him. I sat cross-legged on the ground and watched Drowzee carefully, studying him for any sign of movement. His arms twitched suddenly and I jumped to my feet as he started to groan and push himself upright. "Don't move!" I told him loudly, trying to sound commanding, and held up my fists. He glanced blearily at me and blinked a couple times, then chuckled.

"Oh, it's you. So you caught me, huh?"

"Crest, Shiloh and I caught you," I told him, stepping back a bit in case he tried to attack. "Officer Magnezone will be here any minute, so don't move!" Drowzee fell back into a sitting position and stared at me.

"Are you going to make me stay here?" He laughed and shook his head. "Like that? Why don't you use a move?"

"Shut up! This is enough." _I should have taken Crest and Yuki to the Guild, _I thought nervously, spacing my feet apart and trying to brace myself in case Drowzee attacked. During the battle with on Mt. Bristle, I'd found out that I was quick if nothing else, and I was going to try and use that speed again if I had to.

"Oh, of course it is," Drowzee chuckled, raising his paws. "Just calm down, kid."

"I said not to move!" I growled, taking a step forward, but realized that my legs were feeling heavy for some reason.

"I wouldn't have hurt the kid," Drowzee was saying calmly. "All I wanted to do was find some treasure. I have to make a living somehow, don't I?" My head was feeling heavy now, too, and I shook it wearily.

"Not that way," I mumbled, trying to stifle a yawn. _Why am I so tired? And not now...Drowzee's right here..._

"Oh, so the good-guy way, then, like you maybe? Joining the Guild and helping out? If that had worked," Drowzee snorted angrily, "I wouldn't be an outlaw. And that's just what everyone started calling me." Staring at Drowzee, I saw that he had risen to his feet and was still holding out his arms towards me. He'd done that before, during the battle, and it had made me sleepy then, too.

"_Gale! Don't look!" _Through the haze of sleep I was fighting, Shiloh's voice came back to me. "_It's hypnosis!"_

"Ugh...no..." I groaned, shaking my head heavily, which just made the drowsiness worse. I swayed a little and fell to my knees, but shakily tried to stand up again. My vision was getting blurry but I could just make out Drowzee's form; he was still here, so there was still a chance to stop him from getting away. _If I can use absorb again, then I can fight him._ Stumbling forward, I reached out for Drowzee and felt my paws grab his shoulders, and I tried to fight against the hypnosis and concentrate on using absorb. My paws started tingling but I felt a punch to my stomach and fell flat on my back. Hugging my stomach tightly, I rolled over and forced myself to my feet, but got knocked flat again only to be grabbed by Drowzee. He'd caught me by the throat. I could barely breathe and was starting to kick my legs in panic as my lungs burned from lack of air. It was obvious that Drowzee was serious about stopping me and he was too strong, so I couldn't do much to stop him. It seemed like Chatot had been wrong about the kind of outlaw Drowzee was.

* * *

**Oh, boy, it's a little embarassing that I updated the same chapter twice. I'm sorry. It was probably really confusing. But it's fixed now! Thank you again, Rosalietje, for telling me chapter four and five were the same.**


	6. Hopes

**I don't have much to say for this chapter. It's the finale of the outlaw capture mission, and the mysterious staring Pokémon from last time are introduced, so I'll just letcha all get on with it. Thanks for reading!**

**I don't own Pokémon or the Pokémon universe. I am just happily able to write about them. I want to draw pictures of Pokémon too, but I'm not so good, so writing is my thing—pictures with words. Keep reviewing though, because reviews help me improve (and they're also fun to read). I like writing but honestly, I'm a little clumsy sometimes. I noticed that after a while, and I want to get better. So thank you, everyone!**

* * *

**~Hopes~**

As Drowzee's grip tightened on my throat, I gasped and struggled with all my might, but wasn't able to shift his arms even a little. "Nice try," Drowzee hissed, his voice close to my head, "but it didn't work." Lifting my arms weakly, I managed to grab Drowzee's wrists and tried to wrench them away from my throat but I wasn't strong enough. "Still trying to fight me?" As it got harder to breathe, I started kicking my legs frantically, and gripped Drowzee's arms tighter in a last attempt to use absorb. My paws started to tingle and grow warm, but my vision was starting to fade out. "I won't be caught."

"Hey! Let him go!" A sharp, loud voice cut through the ringing in my ears and I managed to glance left enough to see a small group of Pokémon standing there. I recognized Doctor before Drowzee's grip loosened; the next thing I knew I was on the ground. I hacked out a cough, realizing I could breathe again. My vision was clearing and the pain in my chest was almost gone.

"Later," Drowzee muttered, and I heard his footsteps pounding away, but he grunted in surprise and his footsteps abruptly stopped. My arms shook as I tried pushing myself up, and I flinched away when I saw a Pokémon approaching. I threw a startled punch but didn't hit whoever it was.

"Whoa! It's okay!" The Pokémon exclaimed. "I'm here to help."

"Who are you?" I rasped, and managed to sit up, but clenched my chest and started coughing.

"My name is Torobi," the Pokémon said, and I took a couple deep breaths. "I'm on a rescue team," said the Pokémon, who I finally noticed was a Charmander with a blue bandana around his neck. He was looking at me with a worried expression. "Are you alright?"

"Fine, now...thank you...I thought Drowzee was gonna..." Glancing around sharply, I tried to see where he'd gone. "Did he...?"

"He didn't get away, don't worry." I glanced over towards the entrance of town and saw that Doctor was tying a weakly struggling Drowzee up with his silk while a Pikachu wearing a black bandana around her neck stood nearby, red cheeks sparking with electricity. "Can you stand up?" I nodded once, wincing as I held my throat.

"I think so." With Torobi's help I wobbled to my feet and leaned on him while I got my breath back.

"Gale! Officer Magnezone is coming to pick Drowzee up!" I glanced up quickly to see Shiloh racing down the steps towards me. Once she got closer, her gaze became bewildered as it flicked over to Drowzee, Doctor and the Pikachu, and she ran over to me. "What happened?"

"Drowzee used hypnosis on me, Shiloh...he almost got away." Shaking my head I took a deep breath and winced as I sighed; my throat was aching from Drowzee's grip. The Charmander dug into his shoulder bag and pulled something out of it; I recognized the small object as an Oran berry.

"Everything's fine now, though," he told Shiloh while he held the berry towards me. "It was good we were heading this way." I took the berry from Torobi and bit into it and chewed it slowly, grimacing when my throat ached from swallowing, but I didn't say anything. "You alright?"

"Thanks," I croaked after I was done with the berry, giving the Charmander a weak nod. "I'm fine."

"Gale...are you sure you're okay?" Shiloh questioned, her brow furrowed. "You look terrible."

"I'm fine, I really am. Let's go help Doctor." I pushed away from Torobi, but he pulled me back; I looked at him and saw him shaking his head.

"Sarah paralyzed Drowzee so Doctor could tie him up," he said, "so it's under control."

"You know Doctor?" I asked, then winced as my head spun.

"Well, we just met him, but you could say that," Torobi replied, rubbing his neck. "He showed us around Treasure Town."

"Hey, you..." Shiloh murmured, staring at Torobi with a look of respect. "You're an exploration team too, aren't you?" Torobi nodded brightly and touched a winged egg badge that was pinned to his bandana. It was different from the badges I'd seen so far, though. Shiloh's badge was a white egg, as was mine, but I'd seen bronze and silver badges on a couple exploration teams' bandanas, but Torobi's was a shiny white color, almost light blue.

"Yeah! We're called Team Finders." Torobi glanced warily over at Drowzee for a moment. "We've been traveling with another team member of ours, Sakura, while we did missions."

"Is she a Gardevoir?" I asked in a soft voice, trying not to hurt my throat. "I saw you talking to one earlier."

"Yeah, she is," Torobi replied. "She's been part of Team Finders for a while now. It was just going to be Sarah and me on our trip, but she wanted to come with us and we couldn't say no." He smiled, displaying sharp, white fangs. "She's good at missions, and is really kind. It's been nice having her along."

"So...she joined your team?" Shiloh queried, interest sparking in her eyes.

"We have a lot more members, actually," Torobi explained with a nod, "but they stayed behind to work on rescue missions back at Pokémon Square, where Sarah, Sakura and me live."

"I've heard of that place!" Shiloh exclaimed eagerly. "I've never been but I want to go." She smiled. I glanced over at Doctor, who had finished tying Drowzee up with silk, and then the Pikachu. The electric Pokémon turned and caught my gaze; the Pikachu beckoned, and I looked at Shiloh and Torobi.

"I think they want us to go over," I mumbled.

"Did you say someone was coming to get Drowzee?" Torobi asked while we headed over. "Sarah and I will stay until then."

"Oh, thanks!" Shiloh burst out. "If you're busy, you don't have to."

"It's fine," Torobi laughed. "We traveled around to help where we could, so it's no problem."

"Thanks for helping me," I told him again, with a guilty look at Shiloh, but she wasn't looking at me; she was approaching Doctor and the Pikachu. I felt a touch on my right arm and looked around to see Torobi standing next to me.

"Don't feel bad about what happened," he said in a quiet tone, and I scuffed at the ground with both feet. "Drowzee are tough to deal with."

"He kidnapped someone," I explained ruefully, "and I almost let him escape."

"But we got him," Torobi persisted, crossing his red scaled arms. "And from the look of you, you fought back. That's why he didn't run away in the end." Unexpectedly Torobi grinned, showing his fangs again, and patted me on the back. "You did fine, so don't worry about it."

"You think?" I asked, then glanced at the ground for a moment before slowly meeting the Charmander's eyes again. "Thanks."

"How long have you been on a rescue team?" Torobi asked and I glanced at Shiloh; it looked like she was starting to make friends with the Pikachu. They were laughing and chatting while keeping an eye on Drowzee, who glared at me when he saw I was looking in his direction. I kept his gaze for a moment before turning back to Torobi.

"A week, just about," I answered. "Shiloh and I have done a bunch of missions lately, and today was our first outlaw mission."

"Alright. Well, keep it up." He nodded encouragingly and thoughtfully glanced at the sky. "Pokémon need help these days, especially since the natural disasters have started up again."

"Started up again?" I repeated, interested, but a voice distracted me; Officer Magnezone had shown up at the entrance of town with two Magnemite on either side of him. They both had satchels draped over their bodies. Torobi and I hurried over and helped Drowzee sit up and walk towards the floating, flying saucer-shaped Pokémon. Officer Magnezone reached towards Drowzee with the two large magnets on the sides of his body. Drowzee struggled and grumbled something I couldn't make out.

"Well done!" Officer Magnezone announced approvingly, and Shiloh glanced around and nodded at me with a smile. "Drowzee has been running from us for a long time," Officer Magnezone continued, "but you all helped us finally apprehend him. We'll take it from here." He nudged Drowzee roughly, forcing the Pokémon to start walking. The Magnemite floated closer.

"Your rewards for arresting Drowzee are a grass Gummi and a white Gummi, as well as two blue Gummis and bigger satchels," the nearest Magnemite explained in a metallic-sounding voice.

"Alright!" Shiloh cheered loudly, taking a satchel from the nearest Magnemite, leaving the remaining one for me. I pulled it from the second Magnemite and put it around my shoulders. I could probably stuff a bunch of things into it even if I didn't organize them well; it was a pretty big satchel. Shiloh glanced inside her bag and pulled out the small blue Gummis. "I love these!"

"You're welcome," the Magnemite answered, then turned and floated back with the other Magnemite to Office Magnezone. As they left, I caught a glimpse of Drowzee's expression as he was escorted away, Officer Magnezone behind him and the two Magnemite flanking him. He looked a little angry, but mostly disappointed and sad, which took me by surprise.

"Hey, Gale," Shiloh said, turning and approaching me, "Crest and Yuki are waiting at the Guild. We should tell them that it's okay to come outside now."

"Okay," I agreed, and looked back at Torobi and the Pikachu after walking away a few steps. Doctor was still there, too.

"Thank you for helping. I couldn't have stopped him without you." The Pikachu smiled and Torobi tossed his head dismissively.

"Don't mention it. We're a team, too, so we can help out." He suddenly looked apologetic and rubbed the back of his neck. "Even though it was a bad situation, thanks for not minding that I jumped in."

"Don't worry! You really helped!" Shiloh exclaimed quickly. "You're the one that needs thanks." She smiled at Torobi, and then the Pikachu, who nodded once and smiled faintly back. "I didn't get your names, though. My name is Shiloh, and this is Gale." She gestured to me and I moved a little closer.

"I'm Sarah," the Pikachu offered calmly, then looked at Torobi. I already knew his name but Shiloh hadn't been there to hear it.

"My name is Torobi." The Charmander offered his name with a grin and friendly look at Shiloh, and she returned it. "We'll be in Treasure Town for a while. We're trying to..." Sarah nudged him and Torobi trailed off.

"We need to go find Sakura. She found a Pokémon who needed help." Torobi struck his left palm with a fist as if excitedly recalling.

"That's right. We should go see her...I bet she's wondering what we're doing."

"We'll probably see you later," Sarah told us. "We'll be able to talk more then."

"Okay!" Shiloh waved happily as Sarah and Torobi walked off and waved in return. I sighed and sat down quickly, my legs suddenly giving out. "You okay?" Shiloh asked, holding her paws out. Nodding, I took them and shakily stood up.

"I think I need some rest." Doctor approached me and I looked down to meet his shiny black eyes.

"What did Drowzee do?" I felt my neck carefully; it still felt painful.

"He choked me...he really didn't want to be caught. He said...he had to make a living." Shiloh's eyes darkened and she snorted, then crossed her arms with an angry frown.

"It was really good that Torobi and Sarah were there. And you too, Doctor. Will Gale be okay?"

"If he rests and doesn't strain his voice."

_Good thing I turned into a Treecko and not a Loudred, _I thought, smiling to myself. Being a Treecko wasn't too bad, if I had to be a Pokémon at all. After constantly climbing up all the ladders in the Guild, I'd decided that it was pretty fun, and had discovered that there were little hooks on my paws and feet that made climbing easier. I was even starting to get used to having a tail dragging behind me all the time.

"Your throat will probably be sore for another day or two," Doctor continued, "but you should be fine. If your throat hurts a lot, warm drinks like tea could help."

"I don't know how to make tea, though..." I said with a puzzled frown.

"You don't have to know how," Doctor replied, then gestured for us to follow before turning and scuttling off. He stopped a minute later and indicated a hole in the ground that was diagonally across from the stairs to the Guild. I moved closer along with Shiloh and saw that there were stairs leading deeper underground. "A new place called Spinda's Café just opened. I was going to go see if I could find my friend."

"So he's a Spinda?" Shiloh asked, and earned a nod from Doctor.

"He always wanted to start a café, but I don't know if it's the same Spinda. But if it is him then the only red spots he has are over his eyes." I noticed a sign that was next to the hole and scanned it, but couldn't make much sense of the footprint runes. The strong feeling that I was forgetting an important thing came back without warning and I crossed my arms.

"What does this say?" I asked, giving up after failing to put the letters I could read together. Shiloh glanced at the sign, then back at the stairs in the ground.

"It said 'Spinda's Café: A place where hopes and dreams come true!'" She held her paws up in a shrug. "For whatever that means."

"You can't read the sign?" Doctor asked curiously, looking up at me.

"No, I can't read," I told him, glancing at Shiloh. "Not very well, anyway."

"He's learning," Shiloh explained, then tugged on my arms. "Let's go in! It's open, so I want to see what it's like!" I headed down the stairs after Shiloh and heard Doctor scuttling after me. Once at the bottom of the stairs, we all stopped. I glanced around in amazement; the room was big, enough for a lot of Pokémon to fit in comfortably. There were two counters in the back, the one on the left outfitted with stools and occupied by a Spinda, and four large wooden tables with tree-trunk chairs were situated around the room. The table nearest us on the right side of the room was occupied by a Meowth, a Torchic, a Pachirisu and a Purrloin. Shiloh headed towards Spinda and I sat down at a table that was right beside the counter. Doctor took a spot across the table from me and I smiled at him.

"Hi!" Spinda greeted Shiloh cheerily while wobbling back and forth behind the counter. The Pokémon had a blue scarf wrapped around his head and a matching blue apron with small, light yellow and blue stars all across its surface. There were no red spots on his body, but I couldn't tell if he had any over his eyes because of the scarf. Shiloh put her paws on the counter.

"Hi! What is this place?"

"It's my café!" Spinda answered at once, beaming enthusiastically. "I built it because I wanted there to be a place in town where everyone could talk to each other and have a good time. And this is my juice bar."

"What can you make?" Shiloh asked eagerly, looking at the bottles lined up on wooden shelves behind the counter. Spinda whirled around dizzily and took a glass from the shelf, then returned to Shiloh and set the glass down.

"I can make anything you like. If you have berries, apples or Gummis, then I can make them into a drink."

"Hey, Gale," Shiloh said, turning, "do you have an Oran berry?"

"I should have a lot." Rummaging in my satchel I found a berry and walked over to the counter. "You can have it," I said, holding the berry out to Shiloh, but she held up her paws and waved them.

"Not for me," she disagreed. "For you, so you can get better."

"Oh," I said, and held the berry out to Spinda, and he took it, then leaned down and pulled a silver cup with a line in the middle from under the counter.

"I'll be right back. I have to bring Crest and Yuki here!" Shiloh turned and darted off before I had a chance to say anything. I heard Doctor chuckle and turned to see him crawling towards the counter.

"Do you want a hot drink or a cold one?" Spinda asked.

"A warm one, if that's okay."

"Sure!" Spinda said kindly, then switched out the glass he'd gotten earlier for a stone mug.

"Fermat, it's been a while," Doctor said, and Spinda looked confused, until Doctor stood up and leaned over the counter. Even though Fermat had the scarf on his head, covering the only red spots he was supposed to have, it seemed that Doctor had recognized his old friend anyway.

"How have you been?" Fermat chimed, smiling. "I'm glad you came by! Do you want something to drink?" Fermat pulled the silver cup apart and dropped the Oran berry inside, then got a couple containers, a thick, silver one that looked like it was for hot liquids and another, short charcoal-colored cup. He picked both containers up and poured liquid from them into the silver cup—a milky liquid came from the heavy container, and water came from the other—set them down, put the cap on the cup and picked it up.

"Yes, please. That sounds wonderful." Spinda began swaying back and forth, shaking the silver cup as he did so, and spun around a few times.

"There should be enough for both of you," he said while setting the silver cup down. Twirling around, Fermat picked another mug from the shelf and set it down in front of Doctor. He then twisted the silver cup open and poured a bit into the glasses. "It's Oran berry tea."

"Thanks! How much is it?" Fermat looked bemused for a moment before shaking his head.

"Oh, no. You go ahead and take it. I don't have to buy ingredients, and I go find food in dungeons, so I don't charge. I can always find the things I need in dungeons, and I love making drinks for customers." I took the drink in both paws and felt it warming them up; Spinarak drank his tea from a straw that Fermat had placed into it. I watched him for a moment, then took a careful sip from mine. The taste was almost the same as an Oran berry, except the other things Fermat had put in the drink seemed to have made the mildly sweet flavor stronger, and the texture was frothy and smooth.

"It's good," I remarked, taking another eager sip. "It's really good. Shiloh should try this." Fermat picked the silver mixing cup up and looked inside, then turned and picked a mug from the shelf. As he poured the mixed drink into the mug he hummed to himself.

"There's enough for her, too," he announced, sliding the drink across the counter to an empty spot.

"Hey, Gale! I'm back!" Shiloh's voice called across the cafe to me and I turned around on the stool and saw that Crest and Yuki were running behind her. "How's your drink?"

"Good," I responded, and set my mug down while I held the other one out to her. "Fermat made you one too." She took it and sipped it, and gave a long exhale.

"Mmm, I like it." She gestured to Crest and Yuki, and the three of them hopped up on the bar stools.

"Could I make a drink, too?" Yuki piped up, and I remembered that I had some Gummis in my new satchel. I pulled the white one out and showed it to Fermat.

"Is it okay if you make a drink with this, Fermat?" I asked, and Shiloh put the two blue Gummis on the counter.

"And these too? Sorry. I know it's a lot."

"No problem!" Fermat said. "Just give me a few minutes. Do you want cold or hot drinks?"

"It's warm out there, so cold is nice," Shiloh said, and Yuki nodded.

"Me too, Mr. Fermat, please." While Fermat cleaned the cups and started mixing the Gummi drinks, Shiloh turned excitedly to me.

"Guess what!" She exclaimed, then looked apologetically at Crest and smiled. "Do you want to tell?"

"Sure," Crest said, and looked down the counter at me. He was two spaces away from me, on Shiloh's right, so I leaned forward as much as I could to see him. He seemed embarrassed, but had a grin on his face as he spoke. "Shiloh asked if I wanted to join your team, and if you think it's okay, I want to."

"You do?" I asked, and Crest nodded hopefully. "It's fine with me. You fought really well against Drowzee, and even though you said you got lost, you found your way through Mt. Bristle quickly."

"That's exactly what I said!" Shiloh beamed at me, then turned to Crest, who had turned a little pink.

"Then I'd like to join your team," Crest said shyly, smiling at Shiloh. "I'll do my best and work really hard to help."

"Great! And you can teach Gale some optimism." I gave her a mock frustrated look as Crest looked confusedly at us.

"Come on," I laughed, and Crest's laughing was added to Shiloh's when he understood we were joking. Shiloh nodded gratefully at Fermat when he slid her a glass full of a blue liquid. Crest caught a glass with the same blue liquid inside as Fermat slid it down the counter, and then the Spinda passed me a glass and I gave it to Yuki, who was sitting on my left. Fermat had put a straw inside this glass and Yuki sipped the drink eagerly.

"It's tasty!" He exclaimed happily. "I love most Gummis, but white ones are the best." He drank from the straw again and licked his lips. Crest laughed.

"You aren't very picky," he commented with a grin, then gave me an excited look. "I've wanted to be on a team, but didn't know if I'd be good. But if you both say I am then I'm looking forward to going on explorations."

"Where will you stay?" Shiloh asked questioningly. "I think he'd let you stay at the Guild." Crest thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"I don't think I can now. I have to take care of our mom, and Yuki." He fell silent for a moment, but his face brightened a moment later. "I'll just come into town every morning and meet you to go on explorations."

"Sounds good to me," I remarked, and drained the last of my Oran berry tea. It had helped my throat, and even though the weather was warm out, I'd really liked having a hot drink.

"When I get older," Yuki mumbled around his straw, "I want to be on your exploration team too. Could I?"

"Definitely!" Shiloh told him with a nod. "We'd be happy to have you." I nodded in agreement, then looked at Crest and noticed he seemed a little nervous, but he just kept sipping his drink without saying anything. Soon everyone had finished their drinks; Fermat collected all the glasses and mugs and moved towards a hollow in the back that had a spout of water trickling into it from the wall. He put the dishes in the hollow and stopped up the sink with a rock before washing the cups.

"Thanks, Fermat!" Crest said and waved goodbye. Doctor turned and waved as well; he was going to stay and talk with Fermat a little longer.

"Everything was good," I called to him, and Fermat nodded and waved as we climbed up the stairs. Once outside I saw that the sun was almost overhead in the blue sky. "It feels like we were out all day, but it's just the afternoon."

"Do you want to do some more missions?" Shiloh asked. "We could get in a few more at the drenched bluff."

"I think I'm up for it," I answered. "I feel alright." Shiloh nodded once.

"If you feel bad, though, we can use our badges to come right back." I crossed my arms in thought.

"I need to get better," I told her, then let my arms drop to my sides. "As long as the missions aren't related to outlaws, I should be fine." Shiloh smiled.

"You do get into trouble, don't you?" I turned to Crest and Yuki, who were waiting nearby. We were all standing at the foot of the stairs that led to the Guild.

"Thank you for everything you did," Crest said with a grin. "I can't thank you enough. I'll really do my best for the team."

"That's all we want to hear," Shiloh told him kindly. "See you later!" I waved as Crest and Yuki turned and left town. "Let's go pick a mission or two, then," she said, and I faced her with a nod, then started climbing up the stairs with her.

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**I always thought it'd be cool to have Marill on the team, but in the game he never asked, so I changed that around here. He joined so he could protect his brother, and like he said he'd wanted to join a team but had the same problem as Shiloh (not knowing anyone to start a team with), plus he was busy taking care of his family. Since Yuki's getting older and their mother's getting better though, he'll be able to go off and do his own thing soon, kind of like becoming a trainer. I don't know what his age is, maybe eleven or something in human years, and maybe Yuki's seven or eight. Gale's fifteen in human years as you know and Shiloh's a year and a half older than him.**


	7. Gatekeepers

**Time for the Gatekeeper chapter. I had fun writing this chapter especially.**

**I don't own Pokémon, or the games or books...though I do buy them. I just finished a series of Pokémon manga about Pokémon Black and White. It was good, and there's going to be a continuing series of it! I found it on Amazon and it was a box set, which was lucky, since getting a whole series of manga can be expensive. And I'm cheap anyway.**

**Enjoy the chapter! It might be the last one I update before winter break because I have a final paper to finish for my health class, though chances are I'll find time to procrastinate. I'll see how it goes.**

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**~Gatekeepers~**

"HEY! YOU TWO!" I jumped backwards into Shiloh when Ran's booming voice split the air.

"Ran!" Shiloh gave me a little push, and I stepped out of the way, then watched nervously as she stomped up to Ran with a furious expression. Ran closed his mouth, startled, then widened his eyes in bewilderment and stepped back when Shiloh stood right in front of him and glowered straight into his eyes. "We are right here," Shiloh said, curling her paws into fists, "so stop screaming at us all the time or I will water gun you into next week!"

"Alright, alright...sorry," Ran muttered apologetically, and I wondered if it was possible for him to use a quieter voice. "I have a job for you, that's all. Come here." Shiloh eyed Ran through narrowed eyes as he led us to the small green sprout that I'd seen Diglett by the first day at the Guild. "It's like this," Ran explained, standing beside Diglett. "Duthie has to help with updating the job posters, so he can't pull sentry duty today."

"Sorry about that," Diglett said breezily, and I repeated his name over in my head, trying to memorize it. "So if you two could help, we'd appreciate it. Callo and Lysa have done Gatekeeper duty before, and they said it's pretty fun."

"Gatekeeper duty..." Shiloh mused, and looked over at me. I shrugged and she caught Duthie's eye again. "You mean, figuring out who wants to come into the Guild?"

"Yeah, you got it!" Duthie nodded. "So, that's it. You will yell to Ran what kind of Pokémon footprint you see, and we'll let them in after you do that. There are lots of visitors sometimes, so do your best. If you help each other, I'm sure you'll be fine." Before Shiloh and I could ask more questions, the burrowing Pokémon had vanished underground; I watched the furrow of earth trail away, then turned to Ran.

"UNDERSTAND...uh, got it?" Ran asked nervously when Shiloh stared menacingly at him. I hid a laugh just in time and nodded.

"I think so," I replied while staring at the green plant. "But how do we get underground?" Ran stomped forward past me, leaned over, and pulled the seedling carefully out of the ground. I stared, surprised; it had covered a larger hole than I expected could be there. "Just go into that hole and follow the tunnel. You'll have to do a bit of climbing, but you'll be fine. Get going." Shiloh hopped into the hole first, and I followed after I saw that I wouldn't fall on her after jumping.

"Well, this is an interesting job..." Shiloh said thoughtfully, "but Callo and Lysa said it's fun, so let's go for it." She had a bit of trouble climbing up the walls of the tunnel, but I'd discovered that I had little hooks on my paws that made it easier to climb. It was pretty useful when climbing the ladders in and out of the Guild, and I was getting kind of good at climbing, so I went first and helped Shiloh up afterward. Once we'd gotten through the tunnel, I glanced up and saw the woven branches of the grate above my head.

"I think this is the right spot," Shiloh observed, also gazing upward. She walked to the edge of the tunnel and called down. "We're here, Ran! What do we do now?"

"JUST WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE STANDS ON THE GRATE!"

"WHAT'D I SAY ABOUT YELLING!?"

"YOU'RE FAR AWAY! I HAVE TO YELL!"

"YOU CAN TALK TO US WITHOUT YELLING THAT LOUDLY!" With a grumble, Shiloh walked back towards me. I pulled my paws away from my head and grimaced. "Sorry, Gale." I shook my head a couple times. "I'll do the yelling."

"That's ok. And thanks." A shuffling sound made both of us glance upward.

"Hmm...it's a Pokémon...but which one?" Shiloh wondered aloud, holding a paw under her chin in thought. I squinted upward against the late afternoon sunlight streaming down through the grate and narrowed my eyes.

"Is it Meowth? It kind of looks like that...paw pads, long back feet...so maybe." Shiloh looked at me, then quickly back up.

"I think so too. Good job!"

"Just a guess," I told her, then glanced around. "Better tell Ran."

"It's a Meowth!" Shiloh shouted down the tunnel.

"Heard you!" I watched the paws above and saw them step forward. My feet were too small to stand across the grate's branches, but a Meowth's feet were pretty long and they'd be able to stand like that without falling. On the first day at the Guild, Shiloh and I had balanced, holding one foot over the gaps in the grate so Diglett could tell what species we were. "You're right! Keep going!" Ran called approvingly, managing to yell just loud enough to be heard, but not enough to make us go deaf. Shiloh stepped beside me again, then nudged me and smiled. "Keep guessing."

"I'll try," I told her, and glanced upward at the grate again. A couple minutes passed, and my neck started to ache, so I looked back down and rubbed it gingerly. I pulled a small apple out of my new satchel and looked at it, wondering how I could divide it up for Shiloh and me to share. If I knew some more attacks, then I probably could have cut it in half with one of them.

"Hey! I want to come in!" An impatient voice called from up above and I dropped the apple in surprise. Shiloh moved closer to me and glanced up, and I did too. The foot wasn't very big, and it was dark grey with three toes. The Pokémon, from what I could see, looked like a four-legged one.

"I think it's a Houndour," Shiloh said, and I nodded in agreement, so she walked over to the edge and called to Ran. "It's Houndour!"

"Heard you!" A moment later we heard Ran calling to us. "You're right!"

"Phew," Shiloh exhaled deeply. "I was worried for a second." She picked the apple I'd dropped up and passed it to me. "Here you go. Are you hungry?"

"A little," I answered. We'd had breakfast today because we'd gotten apples as rewards for an earlier mission, but that had been a while ago now and it was time for a snack. "Do you want some too?"

"Yeah, but how do we split it?" She wondered, glancing around. "There's nothing here that could help really."

"That's the problem," I noted, then rummaged in my satchel. "I have that grass Gummi from Magnezone, so you can have this." Shiloh eyed me closely and I nodded, then approached her and held the apple out. "It's ok."

"Thanks," Shiloh said with a grateful smile as she held the apple to her mouth while I buttoned my satchel closed. I still had the old one over my shoulder, and I'd emptied the Oran berries and apple from it into my new, bigger one. The Gummi was just big enough—a little smaller than my paw—to hold me over until supper.

"Should we ask for a bag for Crest?" I wondered. "I thought he could use my old one, but it's better if he has his own."

"I think so too," Shiloh agreed as she munched the apple. "Let's ask Chatot if we can get a new one. Oh, and I asked him this morning while you were getting your items ready if recruited members could stay at the Guild, and he said no. The Guild is full now." She shook her head. "So I guess anyone who joins has to live outside of town or something."

"Uh, hello? Sorry to bother you, but I'd like to come in, please."

"Whoops," I exclaimed, jumping upright and staring at the grate. "They don't have a footprint. They're just floating there."

"Huh?" Shiloh tilted her head backwards. "I think it's a Gastly." She walked off and yelled to Ran.

"You're right!" He called a few moments later. "Good work!"

"This is kind of harder than I thought it'd be," I remarked, leaning against the earthen wall of the tunnel. "I've just been guessing...hopefully the next Pokémon that show up have feet."

"I think it's easier if they don't have feet," Shiloh explained pointedly, "because most Pokémon do. If they don't have feet, that narrows it down."

"Then you take the ones without feet," I said with a little smirk as I ate my grass Gummi. Shiloh frowned indignantly and leapt up.

"But it's not likely they'll come by."

"So what?" I asked after swallowing the bite of Gummi; I don't know why I was suddenly having fun messing with her. "You can take a break and finish eating."

"That's boring," Shiloh said with a disapproving frown. "And you need to help figure out which Pokémon it is."

"It's not that hard," I said, shrugging, and Shiloh's mouth dropped open.

"How's that, all of a sudden? You're pretty confident!" She glared darkly at me. "Fine, then you guess the next one!"

"Only if they have feet," I said, smiling as I walked to stand under the grate, and stumbled as I tripped on my heavy tail. It got in the way more than I wanted it to; it was hard dragging it around, and I was still was walking on two feet. Maybe Treecko who walked on all fours could avoid stepping on it, but I had no idea. I had tried to walk on all fours once, but it had been awkward and I'd looked and felt pretty stupid. I couldn't make my legs move the right way, according to Shiloh, who'd caught me trying to walk on all fours, and she said that was why I tripped. She hadn't been able to keep herself from laughing, so I had stopped practicing since then...at least in front of other Pokémon.

"Oh, they'll have feet," Shiloh said with a challenging grin. "Also, you'll get it wrong, and I'll laugh." Movement above caught my eye and I stood to get a better look at who it was. I glanced down and beckoned to Shiloh and she narrowed her eyes. "You're on your own." Grinning, I held up my paws.

"No feet," I told her, and she rushed to stand under the grate.

"No way!" She darted off and yelled, "Pupitar!"

"Heard ya!" Ran shouted. Shiloh scoffed and took a big bite out of her apple.

"Sometimes Pokémon don't have feet," I said, jokingly consoling Shiloh, and she gave me a look. "It's normal, especially for Pupitar." Shiloh swallowed her mouthful of apple and stuck her tongue out at me, then pointed up towards the grate. I caught a glimpse of movement and looked up. "Feet. My turn." The Pokémon's paw was white-furred with three black claws. I thought for a second, thinking of all the Pokémon it could be.

"What's the matter?" Shiloh taunted, and I turned to her. "Don't you dare tell me a wrong name."

"I won't," I promised in a taunting voice. "It's Absol."

"It better be, or you're getting it," Shiloh warned, setting her apple core down and standing up to call the name to Ran.

"Gotcha!" He yelled back.

"A no-feet one," Shiloh groaned, tilting her head back. "Duskull!"

"Alright!" Shiloh and I waited a while, and then she motioned towards me as footsteps sounded from above.

"Your turn."

"Gible!"

"Darn you," Shiloh growled with a frown, and told Ran the name.

"Good!" He yelled. "You're almost done!" Shiloh and I glanced up, surprised.

"It's sunset already?" I asked in amazement, seeing the red-orange streaked clouds against a darkening sky. "Time flies."

"That mission earlier took most of the afternoon," Shiloh reminded me. "That Vulpix just wanted to explore every single place she could find, and we took a Torchic on an exploration too." She patted her satchel a couple times. "At least we got lots of Gummis."

"We?" I repeated, smiling dubiously and narrowing my eyes. "You kept them all."

"They were all blue and sky Gummis. You wouldn't like them." She stood with a smirk and looked up to examine the grate.

"It's mine," I said, studying the foot above, but Shiloh gave me a strong shove to the side, and I stumbled into the wall.

"It's Glameow!" She yelled.

"What's...going on down there?" I heard the Glameow ask uneasily.

"Nothing!" Shiloh called, then ran to the edge of the short tunnel.

"I knew that!" I grumbled, brushing dirt from my face while glancing up to see the Pokémon staring down nervously. I waved and saw the Glameow tentatively smile down at me.

"Too bad!" Shiloh chirped. "Mine! Ran, it's a Glameow!"

"Heard you!" Ran hollered. "And I can also hear your arguing! Knock it off! The visitors are getting nervous."

"Okay!" Shiloh cheeped, casting me a competitive glare, and I crossed my arms.

"I'll get the next one," I told her firmly, but she just leaned forward and smiled challengingly.

"You gonna say it or do it?"

"Both." I waited under the grate and tipped my head back eagerly, waiting for the next Pokémon, but just then Ran's voice reached us.

"Chatot's closing the Guild up for tonight!" Shiloh burst out laughing and I felt my jaw drop. "So get back here!" I gawked at Shiloh as her fit of laughter continued.

"Looks like I won that round," Shiloh choked between laughs. "Too bad!" I stared at her, then gradually smiled and laughed with her. I'd tried to make a friendly competition, and even though it may have gotten a little crazy, Shiloh seemed to have had fun.

"You were good," I sighed, out of breath from laughing so much. "I think being Gatekeepers again would be fun." I crawled over the edge of the tunnel and glanced back up at Shiloh once I'd jumped down. "Need help?"

"No, I'll jump too," she called. I stepped hurriedly out of the way as she readied to jump, and watched as she touched down beside me with a light thud. "Let's get back!" The tunnel had gotten a little darker, but we got back before it was too dim to see anything. "That was really fun, Gale. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much."

"Me neither," I said, smiling, then thought for a minute. _I really don't remember, but I think that's okay._

"I'm glad we got the Gatekeeper job, Gale, and I can tell it helped you." I stopped just before I'd been about to climb back up towards the hole, freezing with my paws on the wall, and turned to look at Shiloh. She was smiling, a little wistfully, it looked.

"How do you mean?" I asked slowly.

"When we joined the Guild, you seemed kind of sad, but now I think you're finally having a good time." I turned back to the wall and got a grip again, getting ready to climb.

"Well...I guess so. I just wasn't used to everything, maybe."

"Whatever the reason," Shiloh said, moving to stand on my left, "I'm glad." She put her paws on the wall and we started to climb together.

_Maybe because...you said you'd help me, and I needed help. You don't mind now that I have visions, or that I was a human. _I closed my eyes.

_And it seems like I know you from somewhere...even though that's impossible._

* * *

**Aww, isn't that nice? They're getting along better. Lots of the Pokémon, especially Shiloh, remind Gale of his human friends even though he doesn't remember them.  
It was fun picking which Pokémon to mention during the Gatekeeper job. My favorites are Meowth and Gible...Meowth because they're cute, and Gible because I worked so darn hard to catch one in Pokémon Pearl. It took me forever to realize that I was looking in the wrong place. There's a part of Wayward Cave that's hidden under the Cycling Road. Darn bridge.**

**Thank you for reading!**


	8. Traversing Memories

**Hey there y'all! My paper is going pretty well, so I wrote up another chapter! Enjoy! I hope I'm never so busy that I can't write for fun at all.**

**I don't own Pokémon or the Mystery Dungeon series...I just love the little pocket monsters and the games.**** I do not like the Creepy Pastas about Pokémon, though...although I have been reading about them a lot lately even though I scare easily. But you know, I don't like those Creepy Pastas...their, well, creepiness aside...it's just that they need more cheese. Hah...haa...when I start making jokes, it's the point of no return, so I'll just stop myself there. ^^**

* * *

**Traversing Memories**

"We're back!" Shiloh announced brightly once we'd clambered back through the hole. She carefully picked the plant up and put it back over the hole, then turned and looked happily at me. I was about to tell her what I'd been thinking when I saw Chatot and Ran approaching out of the corner of my eye, and the words stuck as I lost my nerve. It wasn't good to say it in front of them, anyway.

"Well, despite all of your arguing," Chatot said, and I noticed that his beak was turned up in an approving smile, "you both got all the visitors' identities correct! Well done!"

"You did alright," Ran grunted, paws on his hips and a crafty smirk on his face.

"Yeah, we did," Shiloh told him and crossed her arms smugly. Ran chuckled and strode off towards the dining hall. "It was a fun job."

"Well, you performed admirably! Here are your rewards." Chatot unfurled his wings and held them out to us. A pink scarf was draped across his wings, and on top of the scarf were three pale tan seeds and two hundred Poké. Shiloh took the scarf, tipped the seeds and Poké into her satchel, then offered the scarf to me.

"It's a Pecha scarf. You should wear it." I reached for it and took it in both paws, then looked questioningly at Shiloh. "Grass Pokémon are weak against poison." I thought briefly about where I wanted to wear it, and just decided to tie it loosely around my neck. It would get in the way anywhere else.

"Thanks," I said gratefully, then turned to Chatot. "And thanks, Chatot." Shiloh straightened proudly and nodded.

"Of course," the bird Pokémon said, inclining his head appreciatively. "Now you two should get ready for dinner. It's another early day tomorrow."

"Hey, Chatot," I spoke up, and he waited curiously.

"Yes?"

"Could we get a new bag for Crest? He's a Marill, and just joined our team."

"Hmm..." Chatot mused. "I think that would be fine. I'll contact the Exploration Federation Team about and let you know. And that reminds me, Chimecho will help you organize your team once you recruit more members."

"Cool!" Shiloh exclaimed loudly. "That's great! We need more Pokémon on the team."

"Once more Pokémon join Team Seekers, come and see me, and we'll get you more equipment for them." Chatot smiled, something uncharacteristic for him, I thought. But it was better than seeing him angry.

"Great! Thanks, Chatot!" Shiloh clapped her paws eagerly, then turned to me. "We should store some of our things before supper. It won't take long."

"Sure." I followed quietly after Shiloh into town, recalling and feeling happy about everything we'd done today. Crest hadn't been able to come with us on an exploration today after all, but he had dropped by long enough to tell us that he'd explore with us as soon as he could. He'd explained that his and Yuki's mother was recovering, but still needed care. Yuki could take care of her, but Crest wasn't comfortable with leaving either of them for a long amount of time. He said that he would go on explorations with us when his mother was fully recovered.

"Hey, hey!" Yabi, a friendly and eager Corphish I'd recently been introduced to, was crawling towards us from the beach. "You guys should check the beach if you have a minute! Sometimes things wash up there." Yabi waved his right claw, and I saw that he was holding a small, clear yellow bottle with a cork stopping it up. "I just found a bottle."

"Oh!" Shiloh burst out eagerly, her brown eyes shining. "Was something in it?" He nodded.

"There was a blue Gummi in it," he replied. "And the bottle is nice, so I'm going to keep it."

"Where's the Gummi?" I wondered, and Yabi scuffed his legs in the sand.

"Well, it looked alright, so I ate it." Shiloh narrowed her eyes and frowned.

"I don't think you should have done that. If you feel bad, go see Doctor."

"I'll be fine!" Yabi assured her. "Like I said, it looked alright." He chuckled nervously, then scuttled between us towards the Guild stairs. "See you two at dinner."

"Should we go check the beach out?" I asked. Shiloh glanced at the sky, then back at me and nodded agreeingly.

"Sure, why not? It's nice to watch the Krabby blowing bubbles, so even if we don't find anything, I won't mind."

"Okay." We raced down to the beach together. Shiloh won, but I didn't mind, and I had spotted something on the beach anyway. The surf was dragging at it so I ran over to it quickly and picked it up. It was a white square with smudges running down its surface. "Hey, Shiloh. Come check this out." She glanced up and walked over as I turned the object around in my paws. "What do you think it is?" The object was faded and battered, its edges soggy and torn, but I could still tell it was a picture of something.

"This...hey, look at that!" Shiloh jabbed at the picture, and her eyes were bewildered. "Those are humans, and a Treecko! Is that you, maybe?" She shook her head almost as soon as she spoke. "But, no...you used to be human."

"I don't know who they are," I murmured, lifting the picture closer to my face. It was damaged but could still make out that it was a picture of a human family. Two dark-skinned adult humans, one brown-haired and one black-haired, were standing over a black-haired kid that was probably theirs. The child was hugging the Treecko Shiloh had mentioned. It looked like the Pokémon was squirming a little. I frowned and studied the photo for a few more seconds before looking at Shiloh. "Hey, there aren't humans here, are there?"

"I've never seen any," Shiloh answered, pressing closer to see the picture, "and I've been lots of places."

"Maybe this picture came from where I lived," I wondered, alternately tapping my feet in thought. "But how did it get here? And who had it?" Shiloh carefully took the picture and studied it. A strange feeling was coming over me, and suddenly a powerful dizzy spell made me drop to all fours.

"Gale!" Shiloh gasped, and I felt her paws on my back. "What is it?"

"Another vision," I grunted, closing my eyes tightly. A piercing ring filled my head and images flashed in my mind; the kid and the Treecko from the picture were chasing after each other, looking excited. The kid was laughing and kept grabbing at the little Pokémon, but missed each time; the Treecko was moving too fast for him to even get close. With a flash of white the vision ended and I jolted to my feet. Shiloh jumped away with a yell.

"Don't do that!" She exclaimed. "You scared me!"

"Sorry, sorry," I told her, wincing, and she moved closer to me and offered the picture to me; I hesitated in taking it and she pulled it back after a moment.

"What did you see?" She asked urgently, brow furrowed. "Or was it a sound vision?"

"I saw that kid," I gestured towards the picture in Shiloh's paws, "and the Treecko playing together, but that was all."

"Any idea who they were?"

"No idea," I responded with a shake of my head, and Shiloh exhaled quietly, then glanced around at the beach. "I still can't remember."

"Hey, Gale," Shiloh interrupted, and I stopped talking right away, glad to potentially have something else to talk about. "Look at that. There's something else on the beach." I looked and saw it too almost right away, and ran with Shiloh to get a closer look at it. It was half-buried in the sand and was big, a lot bigger than Shiloh, and looking like it had been ripped up somehow. I carefully picked it up by the two straps that were coming out of it, and must have tugged too hard to pull it out of the sand, because they ripped free and the oval-shaped thing collapsed back into the sand. "What is it?" Shiloh asked, puzzled. "It looks like our satchels, but I've never seen one this big."

"A backpack," I said in realization, and felt a sudden spark of curiosity. "It might have something inside it." I pulled at the backpack, but it was too heavy with water and sand to pick up and I let it go with a sigh. Shiloh gripped it and together we pulled and eventually lifted it free of the sand.

"That's what it's called?" Shiloh grunted as she dropped the backpack. "I guess it's a human thing, huh?"

"Yeah, it is," I answered. "Lots of humans wear them."

"It's huge," Shiloh remarked, eyes wide. "Humans are really big. And it must have just washed up, otherwise Yabi would have seen it." I nodded and reached for the zipper on the backpack and tugged it a couple times; it eventually slid open, so I stood the backpack up and glanced inside. I was disappointed to see that there wasn't anything inside; a huge rip in the bottom of the backpack had been hidden by the sand. If anything had been inside the backpack, then it was definitely long gone by now. "That's too bad...I wanted to see what was in it." I set the backpack down and frowned.

"I wonder if the backpack belongs to the kid in the picture." I looked at Shiloh and her eyes lit up.

"That makes sense!" She gasped. "The backpack definitely belongs to a human, since it's way too big for Pokémon!" Shiloh glanced around quickly, brown eyes wide. "Maybe he's here! Do you think so?"

"He could be," I agreed with a nod. "But...someone would have seen a human, even if he's a little kid." Shiloh stared at the picture and shook her head.

"How could he get here?" She asked, looking confused.

"I was wondering that too," I said. "These things were on the beach...they had to have come from somewhere else."

"...Maybe they were brought here by that storm a week or so ago," Shiloh offered, and I lifted my head as a jolt of unease hit me. "But they didn't get here until now. The other things inside the backpack might be out in the ocean still."

"You found me right after that storm," I mumbled apprehensively, and Shiloh gazed seriously at me.

"I did...that's right." She slapped her forehead. "You were brought here by the storm too." She fell silent, then cleared her throat and spoke up again, her voice sounding a little uncertain. "I know you can't remember, but Gale, do you think that maybe," she lifted the picture up and I stared hard at it, my heart beating heavily, "this human is you?"

* * *

Shiloh and I stopped holding our heads after we finished the morning cheer; we'd realized that blocking out sound helped us start the day headache-free. Ran was definitely the loudest of the Guild recruits, and that had been good while Shiloh and I had done sentry duty a couple of days ago, but in normal situations it wasn't the best thing for an early morning. Shiloh and me had discussed and decided to go to bed as early as we could so we'd get up early, too, and it had worked alright so far. Sometimes it meant we did one less mission than usual, but it was worth it. We'd been talking about something else, too: about my visions and why they happened. I glanced at Shiloh after she nudged me in the ribs, then stared around to see if anyone was nearby before I leaned in a little closer.

"I have something to tell you later about your visions," she muttered quickly. "I think I figured something out."

"Good!" I whispered back eagerly. "I've been thinking a lot ever since we found the picture." I patted my satchel with both paws; I'd kept the picture stored there and constantly checked to make sure it was still inside. I'd become overly worried about losing it. If the person in the picture was me, then I knew now what I'd looked like as a human. Apparently I wasn't a very old human, because according to the picture—if it was me, that is—I was just a little kid.

"Everyone, pay attention! I have something urgent to tell you." Shiloh and I broke apart and I fixed my gaze on Chatot, but glanced to the left at Shiloh for a second. She caught my eye and shrugged, looking anxious. "Far from Treasure Town there is a place called Treeshroud Forest." Chatot rustled his wings and looked sharply at everyone. "Several exploration teams say that time has stopped there."

"Stopped?" Lysa echoed in a startled squeak after a moment of stunned silence reigned. "What do you mean?"

"How could time have stopped?" Callo burst in. "Is that even...possible?" He shook his head back and forth. "Time always keeps going on its own."

"I believed that as well," Chatot sighed back, "but time has stopped. And there is a reason."

"What it is?" Duthie asked in concern, and I glanced at him. He looked worried, and was speaking in a quiet voice as he ducked a little deeper into the hole he'd dug. Since Diglett dug through the ground to get places, the recruits took turns filling up the holes after he left to go on explorations. Shiloh and I had fixed the floor a couple of times. "Did those exploration teams find out?" A murmur of agreement ran through the crowd, and I found myself nodding; I was curious too. I still didn't know how it could be possible for time to just freeze. Shiloh had told me about it several times, but I guess I hadn't really believed.

"One exploration team was in the area and noticed that something was strange about the forest. No winds were blowing, and any leaves on the trees were still. Any dew on leaves that had dripped from leaves just hung in the air." Chatot's face was set grimly as he continued. "Even more troubling was that local Pokémon they encountered were also frozen." Shiloh, Lysa and Callo gasped; I just listened, stunned, and glanced at the others. Ran, Duthie and Yabi looked uneasy. "The teams reported their findings to other exploration teams, and eventually the news travelled here with Team Poochy." Chatot took a deep breath and let it out gradually. "A Time Gear was stolen from Treeshroud Forest. That's caused time to stop."

"WHAT?!" Ran exclaimed, but no one got angry at him for yelling this time. I looked at Shiloh and noticed that her mouth was hanging open; studying the others, I saw that they were reacting in a similar manner. Expressions of disbelief and worry were stamped on all of their faces. "Who would steal a Time Gear? That's just...well, EVERYONE knows to leave them alone!"

"Obviously not," Lysa murmured unhappily while lowering her head.

"No one knows who took it," Chatot replied, also not reacting to Ran's outburst. "It is a problem, though, and several teams are on the lookout for more Time Gear locations. They may be able to find out who stole the Time Gear. Officer Magnezone has instructed all of us to report any suspicious activity." Chatot flapped his wings and nodded his head. "Well, then, off you go. Keep working on missions!" I turned to Shiloh and she held a finger to her lips and gestured towards me. We headed away from the group and waited until most everyone had left the floor.

"I can't believe a Time Gear was stolen," she said in a low voice. "Like Ran said, it's something you just don't do."

"I don't know what Time Gears are, really." I spoke worriedly, having never seen Shiloh this upset. Even though I hadn't known her long, I was getting used to her usually eager outlook on things. "But I could tell they're important." Shiloh met my eyes seriously.

"They're very important. They keep time working correctly, and when one is removed from its area...time just stops. Anyone who is there when it happens is frozen in time."

"Is there a way to stop it?" I asked, and wrapped my arms around myself when a little chill went up my spine.

"The only way I know is to put the Time Gear back," Shiloh answered distantly, then shook her head a couple times. "But anyway, about your visions. I noticed that whenever they happen..."

"Shiloh, Gale," Chatot called suddenly, and I glanced over at him.

"Guess it'll have to wait," Shiloh muttered, and together we headed over to see what he wanted.

"You two have been doing very well lately with your explorations, and the Guildmaster and I are very impressed with how you captured Drowzee and saved Yuki." Chatot beamed, and Shiloh and I exchanged a quick glance.

"Oh, well...Crest helped us out a lot," Shiloh explained. "We found Yuki so quickly because Crest knew the way around Mt. Bristle."

"I see," Chatot murmured, nodding. "It's a good thing he'll be exploring with you soon, then." I exhaled quietly. "Anyhow, the reason I called you two over is because the Guildmaster has a task for you."

"Oh? What is it?" Shiloh asked eagerly, clasping her paws.

"Take out your map, if you would." Shiloh pulled out a square of bark paper and unfolded it carefully. Chatot pointed a wing to a spot on the map that was close to the sea; I recognized it as Treasure Town. "This is where we are now." His wing traveled across the map to a blue waterfall symbol. "And here is where you are to investigate. It's beyond the craggy coast, about half a day's trip. There is a huge waterfall there, and the Guildmaster believes there is something behind it."

"Cool," Shiloh exclaimed. "So that's all? Just go and see if anything's there?"

"Correct!" Chatot replied with a nod of approval, and Shiloh folded the bark map back up. "Report anything you find to me when you return."

"Sure," I said. "We'd better get going, then." Shiloh nodded at me and we headed up the ladders and out of the Guild, taking only a minute or so to get a couple apples and Oran berries from storage, and then we were on our way out of town.

"Alright, I'll explain now," Shiloh told me once we'd been walking for a while. I glanced at her and nodded slowly. "I thought about it a lot. You seem to have visions after you touch something."

"You think so?" I asked, realizing that I hadn't paid attention to when they happened. "I don't know."

"Think about it," Shiloh persisted, meeting my eyes meaningfully. "The first time was when you saved me from falling off the cliff. You touched Kai's pearl, remember? You got a vision about me chasing it and falling. That vision helped you save me."

"That's right...and the second one...it was about Drowzee and Yuki."

"That time, he bumped into you," Shiloh explained, "so you can get visions when others touch you."

"Not just when I touch some object...you're right," I said, thinking about the picture of the two human adults, Treecko and the child that might be or have been me. "That means if I don't want to see a vision, I shouldn't touch anything or anyone." Shiloh's forehead wrinkled and she frowned.

"Won't that be hard, though?" She wondered, crossing her arms. I sighed.

"Guess so," I muttered. "I'd better get used to them..." Shiloh's face was pinched, but she smiled suddenly.

"If you got visions about mystery dungeons," she said, looking excited, "then we could probably discover lots of new things!" I closed my eyes and thought about that for a minute, then opened them and met Shiloh's eager glance.

"Chatot said that we should find out anything we can about the waterfall, so if we can't find anything out on our own, maybe a vision will help."

"We could be the best explorers ever!" Shiloh exclaimed, but she looked apologetic suddenly. "I can tell that having a vision is hard on you, so maybe it's not a good idea."

"Well...I don't get visions all the time," I told her. "If I did, almost everyone in the Guild would know by now."

"Good point," Shiloh murmured, a puzzled frown on her face. "I wonder why it only happens sometimes."

"So do I. But I could try to get a vision once we get to the waterfall."

"Is that really okay?" Shiloh questioned, and I nodded, trying to push away my anxiety. Having a vision wasn't painful, but it was unpleasant. Because of my vision after touching the picture, I had been careful not to touch it when getting things from my satchel. I'd been afraid of getting another vision, since that one had bothered me for some reason. But if I could get visions from touching anything, then it didn't matter what the item was. It wasn't just the picture that caused visions. Shiloh was right; we might be able to find out lots of mysteries because of my visions. But it seemed better to just touch items, and not Pokémon, I decided with a slight feeling of awkwardness. I also decided to never think that again. The one time a vision had been caused by a Pokémon was when Drowzee had bumped into me; an accident would be the only time another Pokémon would make me see a vision.

_Wow. Just stop. Shut up, _I told myself fiercely. "Yeah. I'll try."

"Thanks, Gale," Shiloh said with an eagerly grateful smile.

"Sure." Looking ahead into the distance, I could just make out a bit of blue in the distance that was surrounded by thick fog. "Is that the waterfall?" Shiloh glanced ahead too and answered a moment later.

"I think it is. We're almost there!"

* * *

**Poor, poor Gale...thinking weird thoughts. XD**

**I'm gonna cut it off here. Normally I have six-page chapters, and this one is eight. It used to be longer though so I think I did well.  
**

**Thank you for reading! Have a great winter break, too, and a fun, safe holiday, whichever holiday it is. One of my friends celebrates Hanukkah, so I learned a little more about that holiday this year. It feels weird that it's almost winter break. The time has really flown, at least for me. One day I turned around and it was Thanksgiving, and then almost winter break. When I was a kid, the time before winter break seemed to take forever.**


	9. Discovery

**Happy New Year! Hope you all had a fun winter break.  
I don't own the Pokémon or any characters in Mystery of Time, and I don't own any of the game characters or plots either.  
This may be random, but has anyone played Pokémon Pearl, Diamond, or Platinum games and explored the Old Chateau? That place is cool, and I liked exploring there, but it was creepy at the same time. I looked the Chateau up on Youtube and found out that ghosts appear in the game. After that I played Pearl and saw them for myself. It was spooky. The Old Chateau could be a Creepy Pasta all of its own. Creepy Pastas are basically gaming urban legends that people make up. I used to be too scared to read them, but I've been checking them out lately. Some are scary, and some make me laugh but only because some Creepy Pastas try too hard to be scary and end up being a little weird.**

* * *

**Discovery**

I started moving a little faster, and before I knew it I was running towards our the waterfall, and I could hear Shiloh keeping up behind me. Looking back at her I saw her catching up and laughed.

"Enjoy your lead while you can!" She yelled. "I only look slow!"

"Hey," I panted, grinning, "I was pretty fast when we were fighting Drowzee..." Shiloh suddenly pulled ahead of me and got a good lead.

"Only because you used absorb and got some extra energy," she called back to me as she ran. "Now I'm gonna win!" I tried to force my legs to move faster, but only caught up a little bit, and when I reached the waterfall Shiloh was sitting down on a platform of rocky ground that stretched up to the waterfall and put the cascade right within arm's reach. I noticed as I got closer that Shiloh was grinning smugly while she chewed an apple. Panting heavily, I jogged up to her and breathed out a long sigh.

"You win," I gasped, then sat down cross-legged in front of her. The roar of the waterfall made it hard to hear, but the noise was nothing compared to when Ran yelled.

"Of course I won!" Shiloh laughed. "I didn't train for nothing." Shiloh rummaged around in her satchel and pulled out another apple, offering it to me with a grin. "After this we'll investigate."

"Thanks." I'd been getting a little hungry during the trek to the falls, and my stomach was now growling loudly. I was thirsty, too, but the only water around was the water that came from the waterfall, and getting closer to drink from it probably wasn't a smart idea. Standing up, I moved closer to the edge of the rocky platform and looked down; there was a pool of water down below that had collected from the falls, but it didn't seem like there was any way to reach it except jumping, which would definitely be a bad idea. Shrugging, I headed back to Shiloh while I munched on the apple.

"Do you think you'll get a vision?" She asked once I'd sat back down.

"From the apple?" I asked, and she nodded. "I don't think so." I looked dubiously at the apple I held. "I think it would have started by now. I don't feel dizzy."

"That's alright," Shiloh said with certainty. "We'll test it out soon enough." I finished up my apple, set the core down, and saw that Shiloh had also left her apple core behind and was now looking over the edge into the pool below the waterfall. As I approached she shook her head and stepped back. "It's hard to stand close to it for very long." I nodded in agreement and moved aside so Shiloh could get away from the misty spray.

"It is really big..." I said, gazing up at the waterfall. "I don't think I've seen one this big." Shiloh shot me a curious glance.

"You've probably at least seen a waterfall. They're all over the place. Well, more than some things."

"Like what?" I wondered, and Shiloh looked up and frowned in thought.

"Um...like...uh..." She snapped her fingers. "Like colorful lights in the sky at night, shooting stars, funny-shaped rocks...that kind of thing. I've seen lots of cool stuff."

"Rocks shaped like funny?" I asked, pretending to be confused. "What's funny look like?" Shiloh narrowed her eyes and smirked, and I returned a smile, knowing a likely conclusion I'd pushed our conversation towards.

"Your face."

"Don't say that around other Treecko," I laughed. "You'll insult them too."

"I probably would, but it's just you I meant," Shiloh said, her smirk still in place. "Why don't we explore now?" She approached the large cascade of water again. "I really want to find something. Come on, Gale." We approached the waterfall, moving closer until we were just close enough to reach out and touch the sheet of water that was pouring down. The cliffs that surrounded the falls were made of light, smooth rock, just like the rock platform we were standing on.

"Hmm," I murmured, squinting my eyes against the spray. "It doesn't look like there's anything here except the waterfall."

"I can swim," Shiloh mumbled, "but not through a waterfall." I turned towards her and held up my paws in a shrug.

"What now? I could try touching the waterfall, but I think it'd hurt."

"Yeah. Maybe not a good idea." Shiloh faced the waterfall, tilting her head back as she gazed upward. Folding my arms, I decided to quickly give it a try, then stepped closer to the falls and tentatively reached my left arm out. I lightly brushed the falling curtain of water with my paw. I stumbled a bit as the waterfall's current dragged at my arm, and I felt myself unbalancing.

"Gale!" I heard Shiloh yell, and felt her grab my shoulders. "Got you!" I felt a strong tug and fell backwards onto the rocky ground. My body was shaking because of the the close call. "Are you okay?" Shiloh asked, looking me up and down. "That current's powerful!"

"I'm fine," I gasped, breathing heavily as I tried to calm down, "and I won't do that again." I looked at Shiloh gratefully, giving a weak smile. "Thanks."

"That's good." Shiloh held up her paws and lifted her shoulders. "So, what do we do?" She wondered. "Maybe there's something on the other side."

"Of the waterfall?" I asked, looking hard at it. I couldn't see through the water, but I doubted there was anything on the other side and I didn't think we could safely find out. Shiloh was shaking her head.

"No, on the other side of the cliffs." Shiloh glanced dubiously at the falls. "Even if there is something, I don't know how we could get through to find out. The waterfall is too powerful." There was a slight buzzing in my head, and I shook it a couple times, but swayed as my body started to feel light.

"Shiloh," I said, closing my eyes and holding my head, "I feel dizzy."

"Is it a vision?" Shiloh asked urgently. "You touched the water; I bet that's why!" I waited for images or sounds to come, and after a bright flash I saw the shadowy figure of a Pokémon standing in front of a waterfall. It stood still for a moment, then turned and walked away, only to spin back around and run straight for the cascade. At first it looked like the figure had been pushed under the falls to the pool below, but the images changed a second later and the figure was tumbling head over heels into a dim cavern. The Pokémon stood, shook itself, and strode deeper into the cavern. With another flash the images stopped and I opened my eyes to see Shiloh standing in front of me. Her expression was concerned, but there was a flicker of interest in her eyes.

"What happened? Did you see or hear anything?" Shiloh helped me stand, and I nodded.

"I saw a Pokémon standing right front of the waterfall."

"Really?" Shiloh looked perplexed. "Someone's been here before, then." She frowned in annoyance. "I wonder if Chatot knew that. But then he wouldn't have sent us."

"Maybe he didn't know about it, but whoever came here knew what to do. They jumped through the waterfall and into a cavern behind it." Shiloh's brown eyes widened.

"They did?" Her expression became uncertain. "Think we should jump and see?"

"We could just go back and tell Chatot that there's a cave or something behind the falls." I glanced anxiously at the looming waterfall. "I don't really want to try it out."

"We came all this way, though." Shiloh turned quickly and began to approach the falls at a run.

"Wait!" I yelled urgently, rushing forward and grabbing Shiloh's shoulders. She stopped abruptly and I pulled her back. "There's no way to get back up! What if you get hurt?" Shiloh whirled on me and I stepped back a couple steps; there was a challenge in her eyes.

"Come with me, then, if you're so worried," she told me sharply, and I grimaced.

"Okay...but how should we jump? At the count of three?" Shiloh grinned and nodded firmly.

"Sounds good to me. I'll count." She took my right paw and I looked at her in surprise. "It'll be easier to stay together this way. Get ready." Gulping, I gazed ahead at the falling water and hoped there was a cave behind the falls, otherwise we'd hit a wall of rock and get dropped down to the pool below. "We can do it. We'll stick together, no matter what happens." I nodded but kept my eyes on the falls, and prepared myself to move at Shiloh's count. "One...two...three!" I jumped forward and felt Shiloh tugging at my paw. The wall of water got closer and I felt the spray getting stronger, pelting me with stinging beads of water. "JUMP!" I heard Shiloh yell, and I tensed my legs as we reached the end of the rocky platform, then pushed off the ground with every bit of strength I had, hoping fervently that we would make it through.

Suddenly the noise of the waterfall wasn't just ahead of me, but it was around me and inside my head. I couldn't see or hear anything, and the strength of the deluge made it seem like I would be pushed underwater and held there until I ran out of air. I couldn't feel Shiloh's paw gripping mine anymore, either, and began to panic. If I was in the pool, I was going to try and at least swim out, so I waved my arms and hoped it would get me somewhere. My lungs throbbed but without warning the noise of the falls was behind me and I could breathe again. I frantically wiped the water out of my eyes and gasped in mouthfuls of air as I tried to see where I was. It was dark, but my eyes adjusted a little and I could see dripping stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

"Shiloh?" I coughed out a bit of water, then rolled over and shakily got to my feet. My body felt like it was bruised all over, but other than that I felt fine; I hadn't drowned, so that was good. "Where are you?" There was a chance she could have fallen, but I didn't want to think about that. I could look for her first, and then jump back through if she wasn't here. "Can you hear me?"

"I got through," her voice sounded from nearby, and I heard her cough a couple times. Whipping around, I spotted her in the gloom of the cave and hurried over to her. She was crouched near the back of the cavern, shaking her head and spitting out water. I took her arms and pulled at her a little.

"Can you stand up?" She nodded and I pulled her to her feet. "You okay?"

"Fine, for the most part," she answered breathlessly, nodding and letting go of my paws. "How about you?"

"I'm alright." I stared around the dim cavern. "Looks like we made it."

"Yeah!" Shiloh exclaimed loudly, sounding bewildered but excited. "Your vision was right." A path snaked off through the cavern, and two small bodies of water surrounded it. "Let's go!" I trailed after Shiloh, stopping to dip my toes into the water on the left side of the path, and I could easily feel the bottom. The water was frigid, so I stepped out and shivered a little, deciding not to test the pool on the right. Catching up with Shiloh, I wrapped my arms around myself and sighed.

"It's cold in here," I muttered, shivering as chills swept through my body, and Shiloh glanced at me.

"It is a little cold," she agreed. "Maybe walking faster will help." I rubbed my arms and nodded, then started moving a little more quickly through the cave's corridors, but it was still a chilly as well as dark. My eyes could make out some obstacles in my way, but most of the time I had to really squint to not bump into anything. It looked like we were in a large room with an opening at the far end. Without warning the ground below me dipped and the next thing I knew water had closed over my head and I came up coughing out water. In the gloom of the cavern I'd stepped right into in a large puddle, one that reached from the beginning of the room to the end. It thankfully hadn't been over my head, since I could stand up and only have the water come up to my waist. Glancing upward I saw that Shiloh was reaching out to me, and I took her paws and started to climb out. Something slimy brushed against my tail suddenly, and a shiver ran through me.

"Something's in the water!" I grunted as Shiloh helped me clamber out of the puddle. Whipping around, I stared into it, and Shiloh moved up beside me. A long, gray form suddenly splashed into the air, causing Shiloh and me to lurch backwards. Before I could catch a glimpse of what Pokémon it was, the gray figure fell back into the water.

"It was a Barboach, I think," Shiloh stated, still looking into the puddle. "Let's go before it decides to fight." I nodded quickly and set off again beside Shiloh. "There are probably lots of water types here. You can work on absorb here."

"I'll try. I mean, I think I still know how I did it." While Crest, Shiloh and me had been fighting Drowzee, I'd grabbed him and been able to steal some energy from him and move faster because of it. I'd been a little desperate then, but I think I just had to concentrate and will the move to work.

"Though I guess it's nice if we get through here without being attacked," Shiloh added as we walked steadily through the opening at the end of the room and into the next area. Instead of another large room, there was just a hallway that curved off to the right. "It's a nice place."

"Maybe for water types," I said with a shiver. "It's too cold for me."

"Maybe we'll go to a volcano next or something," Shiloh said, catching my eye and grinning. "That'd be warmer."

"Hahah...no thanks." I looked back ahead and noticed that the ceiling was getting lower. The only way out was to crawl through a little opening that looked just big enough for Shiloh and me to fit through. "Wonder what's on the other side."

"I'll go first," Shiloh said, and peeked through the hole. She crouched but lurched back with a startled yelp. A small blue Pokémon darted through the small tunnel and leapt forward. Shiloh jumped out of the way, then took a breath and sprayed the Pokémon with a water gun. "Darn! It's a Surskit!"

"I'll try absorb!" The Surskit glanced in my direction and lunged, knocking me backward, but I grabbed two of its legs and concentrated. My paws warmed and I stood quickly, spun once and tossed the Surskit away. It flew a short distance and landed on the ground in a heap, then stood weakly and stumbled a few steps before glancing swiftly at us. Without warning it dashed away, back the way we'd come and disappeared from sight.

"Nice going," Shiloh remarked, approaching the tunnel again. "That was pretty good."

"Thanks," I said, a little out of breath and surprised that I'd been able to fight like that. "Absorb really works."

"I think you're getting better at battling," Shiloh said with a nod. "There probably are lots of Water-type Pokémon here, so you watch my back."

"Should we really count on me to fight?" I wondered, feeling a little apprehensive.

"You can do it. And if things go bad, we can just run away." Shiloh crouched to all fours and began crawling through the tunnel. "If I can get through even with my shell then you'll be able to, no problem." As Shiloh edged into the hole, her shell just barely scraped the sides, but she finally crawled out onto the other side. I hurriedly slipped through as well, not wanting to be left alone, and straightened up when I saw Shiloh standing. The ceiling of the chamber we were in stretched far above our heads, and I could barely see the stalactites that were dripping water into the various pools dotting the area. I jumped a bit when Shiloh grabbed my left paw and pointed excitedly ahead at a distant speck of light. "There's something shining in the next room!"

"You're right," I said in realization, just noticing that I could make out more things in the cavern, "and it's colorful, whatever it is."

"Maybe it's treasure," Shiloh wondered, and let go of my paw as she started running towards the far end of the cavern, and I took off after her as fast as I could. I noticed Shiloh's footsteps faltering, though, and heard a splashing noise coming from somewhere nearby. Before I could stop and look around a yellow shape had slammed into Shiloh, knocking her to the ground. Startled, I stopped running, then rushed forward and reached my paws out to grab the figure's shoulders. Shiloh had fallen on her back and was having trouble getting back up, but she was kicking her feet furiously at the Pokémon, keeping it from getting close to her. I tackled the yellow Pokémon and saw it stumble away from Shiloh. Now that I was closer I could tell it was a Psyduck, and it shook its head a couple times and faced me, opening its beak. A stream of water shot from the Psyduck's mouth, catching me in the face. I rubbed my stinging eyes, unable to see, then tried to move so I wouldn't be struck by an attack again. Something slammed into me, making me fall heavily, and I gasped as the breath was knocked from me. I rolled onto my side and managed to push myself to my feet. I rubbed my eyes, blinked a few times, and my vision cleared.

Shiloh had gotten back to her feet and was rushing towards the Psyduck. The Pokémon turned towards her, but hadn't been fast enough to avoid her charge, so Shiloh was able to tackle and push the attacker to the ground. Psyduck were Water-type, so if I could use absorb again, I might be able to beat it. I ran forward and reached both paws out to grab the Psyduck's shoulders. I took a breath and focused like I had when fighting the Surskit and felt my paws tingling and getting warmer. A surge of energy filled my body and I knew the attack had worked.

"Get off!" The Psyduck shouted, and I hopped backward just in time to avoid getting struck in the face by the Pokémon's webbed paws. Shiloh rushed forward and tackled the Psyduck, causing it to stumble away and then collapse to the ground on its back.

"Let's get to the next room!" Shiloh called to me, and I nodded, taking off after her.

"Whoa!" I yelled, and Shiloh glanced back, looking surprised.

"What?"

"I've never run this fast!" I panted back to her as I tried to run straight for the opening to the other room that was almost within reach. Shiloh laughed.

"You must have absorbed a lot of energy because you had a type advantage. You still can't beat me, though!" Shiloh disappeared through the hole in the cavern wall, and I ran through a moment later, then came to a skidding halt. I hopped towards Shiloh, wincing a little; I'd scuffed my feet up on the rocky ground from my sudden stop, but forgot about the stinging pain when I got a good look at my surroundings.

"Wow," I breathed, gazing at the fist-sized, colorful gems that were embedded in the rocky floor. Some were even stuck in the walls, and because of a bunch of holes in the ceiling that were letting in light, the gems were sending colorful sparkles of light throughout the room. A dizzying rainbow of bright green, blue, yellow, orange, purple and red lights shone along the ceiling, walls and floor. Some of the gems were partly submerged in shallow water surrounding the stone path that stretched through the room.

An unsettling feeling of dejá vú had settled in my chest, and I frowned as I glanced around the cavern. This wasn't the first time I'd experienced that sensation; it had happened a couple times before. Shiloh reminded me of someone I couldn't remember, and then there was the way a couple of the other Pokémon I'd met made me feel—as if I'd met them before, or at least someone like them. I felt like I had met someone like Doctor before, but couldn't place who, and I felt confused around him because of it. The things that had washed up on the beach had confused me even more, the picture of the human family most importantly. Shiloh and I were keeping the backpack we'd found in our room even though it didn't have anything inside it. I didn't really like getting visions but I'd given in to curiosity and had touched the backpack a couple times, wondering if I'd see something, but each time nothing happened.

I didn't know why this cave was familiar to me. I might have just seen a similar place as a human. Taking a deep breath, I shook my head, then let the breath out in a loud sigh. The sight of the gems was making my heart beat faster, and not just because they were nice to look at. _I'm supposed to remember something but I don't know what._

* * *

**In the game I don't know if the character ever remembers his/her human life, but I think it's possible for the memories to come back, even though I think it's hinted that the main character won't (because of the whole Darkrai thing). I decided that if there were enough clues then eventually the main character could remember, so that's why I made up things like the picture of Gale's family.**

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**


	10. Springs

**Whenever I got to the hot springs part in the game, I thought about going to one. I haven't been to a hot spring in a while. But now that it's winter, it's cold so hot springs are really nice.  
And since I brought up hot springs, I always wondered what ground, fire and rock-type partners and heroes did when the wave came and washed them to the hot spring. It seems like it would hurt them. If the hero or partner was a Charmander, then it'd make their flame go out...which means they'd die. Maybe the rules changed since generation one or something, or maybe I'm looking too much into this. What did you all think?**

**I don't own Pokémon, or the games. I just own my human characters. Thank you for reading!**

* * *

**Springs**

"This is amazing," Shiloh gasped, turning around and tilting her head towards the ceiling. I snapped out of my thoughts and nodded agreeingly to her statement. "I've never seen anything like this before." She approached a bright red gem near her right foot and started pulling at it. "I wonder if we can get them loose. We could take them back to Chatot." She grunted as she continued prying at the sparkling gem. "It'd be proof enough that we found something." I watched her pull at the red gem for a few seconds, then glanced back around the cavern at the rest of the gems and decided to wander around. The colorful gems had reminded me faintly of something, but I couldn't place it. Had I been to a place like this before, maybe? If I'd been somewhere this amazing I felt that I would have remembered, but nothing was coming to mind. The cavern felt familiar, at least, but I gave up thinking about it as something at the back of the cavern got my attention. I approached it slowly, wondering what it was, then ran towards it when I figured out what it looked like. It was a pink gem, the same shape as the others, but it stood a lot taller than me by a couple feet at least.

"Shiloh!" I called, turning around eagerly, "you have to come see this!" She was still tugging at a gem, but this one was green so she must have given up on the red one. When I called her again, though, she gave a loud sigh and stopped tugging on the little gem. As she trudged over to me with a slightly frustrated expression, she held up her paws.

"I don't think getting a gem will be possible...I tried to pull a lot of them, but they didn't move even a little." I gestured excitedly to the huge pink gem.

"Look at this for a second!" Shiloh glanced over and gasped, then stepped closer with an astonished expression and tipped her head back to look up at the gem.

"This is...huge! I can't believe how big it is!" Shiloh rubbed her eyes, then slowly began walking around the gem. "It's too big to take back, though, Gale. If the little gems don't move, then I really doubt this one will." She rubbed her paws together and then stretched them out; I heard her knuckles crack. "I might as well try though." She took a deep breath before wrapping her arms around the gem and tugging with all her might. After pulling on it a couple times, she released the gem with a heavy exhale of breath. Her face was flushed pink and she looked pretty worn out. "Phew...never mind...I don't think I can do it. You want to try?"

"Sure. Maybe you loosened it up," I told her, smiling a little as I approached the pink gem. With a little shake of my head, I grabbed it and started tugging, but knew right away that I wouldn't do any better than she had. The gem was too big and if Shiloh, who had trained a lot more than me, couldn't pull it out then there was no way I'd be able to.

"Agh, I really want to take it!" Shiloh burst out, startling me into letting the gem go. "Let me try again." I moved aside quickly as Shiloh gripped the gem again and began yanking on it.

"Don't hurt yourself," I told her anxiously. "It's really stuck."

"I'm just gonna try," Shiloh grunted through clenched teeth, which I noticed again were sharp. She could use them in battles, probably, and I was glad that I was on her side. I whirled as a smacking noise, like wet feet hitting the ground, sounded throughout the cave. It was a Psyduck, and the Pokémon looked a little battered and out of breath; I knew it must be the one Shiloh and I had defeated earlier.

"Hey," the Psyduck panted, looking aggravated, "why'd you attack me?"

"Are you serious?" I burst out incredulously. "You attacked us!"

"I just wanted you to leave," the Pokémon retorted with a glare. "Outsiders don't often come here, but when they do, it's usually easy to chase them off."

"Well, sorry...I guess," I said after a pause. "But come on, of course we'd fight back."

"Well, you don't live here," the Psyduck retorted sharply. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"We're an exploration team, and just came here to..." I trailed off and held my head.

"...To what?" I heard the Psyduck ask sharply, but a flash of light filing my vision made any words of explanation catch in my throat. The vision came and went quickly this time, but I saw the shadowy form of a Pokémon walking through a cavern with colorful gems—the one Shiloh and I were in now—and approach a large pink gem. After standing in front of the gem for a second, the Pokémon approached it and held its paws out. A second later, the Pokémon began turning around as the ground started shaking. Then it whirled around swiftly and began running away from a huge torrent of water that suddenly washed up from the right of the rocky path. I shook my head furiously as the images stopped and massaged my head. It looked like the Pokémon had touched the huge gem, and then had been washed away by a huge wave. Suddenly I got a bad feeling. The wave had appeared after that Pokémon had touched the gem...and Shiloh was still trying to pull it out.

"Hey! You listening?" The Psyduck yelled, and I jumped back. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," I answered, watching Shiloh pull on the gem. She released it suddenly, tossed her arms up in frustration, and moved forward to grab it again.

"You should probably tell her to stop doing that," the Psyduck said. A sudden click made me jump. In the cavern where the smallest sounds echoed, it was a pretty loud noise, and Shiloh hadn't missed it either. She glanced in my direction, a ginger expression on her face, her arms slightly lifted as if she was preparing to run.

"What was that?" She asked nervously, her paws clenching into fists and then opening. I remembered the vision and felt a surge of alarm.

"I can't explain, but we need to get out of here." The cave started rumbling, sending vibrations through the floor. Cracking noises sounded from above and the Psyduck barely managed to jump out of the way of a falling stalactite. "Run!" I yelled, motioning frantically to Shiloh, but she was staring up at something, her jaw hanging open. I glanced up, too, and saw a huge wave towering over us. Even though I knew it was too late to escape it, I ran towards Shiloh and reached my arms out to her. She reached towards me and we had just barely clasped our paws together when the wave crashed over us.

* * *

"_Are they okay?"_

_"__Let's get them out!"_

There were voices around me, and warmth, though as I opened my eyes and tried to move, sudden aching pains in my body made me groan. Something pressed hard on my chest and I grunted, then coughed and felt wetness streaming down my chin.

"He's okay! How about her?"

"Fine, just stunned."

I finally managed to open my eyes and saw lots of Pokémon gathered around; the one standing over me was a Psyduck leaning over me with a tense expression. "Are you alright?" He asked.

"Uh-huh," I replied after coughing, and sat up gingerly. "Who are...wait, are you the Psyduck from the underground cave?" The Pokémon nodded once and offered to help me stand; I took both of the Psyduck's paws and stood.

"Sorry for attacking you. Your friend told me what you were doing. I could have told you the biggest gem was a trap." Glancing around, I saw a small group of Pokémon that consisted of a Zangoose, Mankey, Piplup and a Torkoal. Suddenly I noticed Shiloh sitting among them and rushed over to her, ignoring the aches in my body.

"Shiloh!" I exclaimed, relieved to see her. "Did you get hurt? I didn't know if you were alright!"

"Gale, calm down," Shiloh told me, moving her paws up and down in a calming gesture. "I'm right here, and I'm fine. I was more worried about you." The Psyduck nodded.

"Where are we?" I asked after taking a breath. "How'd we get here?"

"The flood washed us through a tunnel and we came out here," the Psyduck explained. "It's one of the ways to get to the hot spring...one of the more dangerous ways, that is." I had finally calmed down enough to study the surroundings more and saw that there was a hot pool behind me, and I realized that Shiloh and I had probably been washed into it.

"You were with us too just before the wave hit," I told the Psyduck.

"Yeah, but I just swam here with the wave," the Pokémon said with a shrug. "I can breathe underwater, but you almost drowned."

"I figured that out," I returned sharply, a little annoyed.

"My name is Jasper, by the way." The Psyduck looked around me, then gestured off behind Shiloh, and I turned to see who he was indicating. The Torkoal I'd noticed before was approaching slowly.

"So, you three were swept here all the way from the waterfall?" He asked in a tired-sounding, but kind, voice. "You must be exhausted. You can rest here as long as you like."

"The springs are really good for relaxing," the Mankey put in, then stepped to the edge of the steaming hot spring and dove in. I covered my eyes until the splash created from the dive had washed over the ground.

"Watch it," snapped the Zangoose, stomping over to the pool, which looked like it could easily fit a dozen or more Pokémon.

"Aren't you going to get back in?" The Mankey asked her lazily while floating in the spring on his back. "You'll get wet again anyway." The Zangoose shook a clawed fist and growled; I looked nervously at her, glad she wasn't mad at me.

"That's not the point!" She snarled harshly. "I don't like being splashed. My fur gets all messed up!"

"Wow...you really need to relax," the Mankey sighed, not sounding the least bit intimidated.

"You do," the Piplup giggled in agreement, then raised her small flippers and pushed the Zangoose into the springs; another small wave splashed over everyone.

"Oh, my," the Torkoal exclaimed, stepping back a bit. "Please be careful," he scolded the Piplup just as the Zangoose surfaced, spluttering and looking more livid than the species usually did. "You need to be calm here."

"Sorry," the Piplup apologized sheepishly, wringing her flippers. "You're right, Elder Torkoal. I won't do that again."

"I hope not," the Torkoal sighed, and quietly the Piplup climbed into the hot springs, smiling gingerly at the Zangoose, who smirked playfully and lightly splashed her. The little Pokémon chittered with laughter and sent a stream of bubbles from her mouth; Zangoose laughed and popped them with her sharp claws, then swam over to the Piplup and began chatting. A second later the Mankey joined in as well. Shiloh chuckled, then turned to me and gestured to the spring. She had pulled her satchel off and it was lying on the ground a couple feet from the hot pool.

"Want to get in? I don't know about you, but I could stand to relax."

"Me too," I agreed, and sat on the edge of the hot spring, gingerly dipping my toes in. It was hot, but not scalding, so I put my satchel on the ground and carefully got in. Shiloh dove in headfirst but didn't make a huge splash like the others had done. I heard a little splash from my right and looked to see that the Psyduck, Jasper, had jumped in as well.

"How long have you two been on an exploration team?" He questioned, a searching expression on his face.

"Well...about a week and a half, I think," I answered back. "Why?"

"Because if you're just getting started out and the team members are as bad at fighting as you, then you need more teammates."

"Huh," I muttered, leaning back and gazing at the sky. "In that case, it's just me who's bad. But even so, I have an advantage over you."

"You forget," Shiloh put in, her voice a little threatening, "that we beat you, not the other way around."

"So?" Jasper shot back, a challenging tone in his voice. "I could have still fought you." Shiloh glanced over at Jasper with narrowed eyes and a little grin.

"Well, if you want to join, you'd better help your team members."

"I am interested in joining," Jasper admitted, seeming to calm down a little. "I haven't been outside of the waterfall cave before. You explore lots of places, and I want to see new things."

"Then you can join," Shiloh told him cheerily. "Right, Gale?" I just nodded once, trying to bite my tongue.

"You mean it?" Jasper asked, his smirking expression lifting into a surprised one.

"Yep," Shiloh answered. "You're a member of Team Seekers now. You can come back to the Guild with us and get registered. You'll get your own treasure bag and badge."

"Awesome!" Jasper exclaimed. "And, listen. I said before that outside Pokémon usually don't go to the waterfall cave, but a while back, one did. I saw him, and tried to talk to him, but he kind of just...danced around and didn't seem to hear me."

"Danced around?" Shiloh echoed, then met my eye. "Does that remind you of anyone?"

"Yeah," I replied, finally knowing who the shadowy figure in my vision had been. "The Guildmaster. He's always dancing around during supper."

"Why did Chatot send us here if the Guildmaster's been here before, then?" She frowned in though, then gave a loud sigh and shook her head. "I guess we'll just ask when we get back, huh?"

"So, what's this Guild like?" Jasper asked curiously. "And this Chatot and Guildmaster?"

"You should see for yourself," I answered. "It's hard to explain what the Guild looks like. I think you'll like it though."

"But you can't stay at the Guild," Shiloh explained, and Jasper looked a little disappointed. "The rooms are full. You could stay in Treasure Town somewhere, I think."

"I'll find somewhere to stay," Jasper said after a moment. "It won't be the same as the cavern, but that'll be fine."

"Should we go back now, then?" Shiloh asked eagerly, jumping to her feet and sending splashes of water everywhere. "Whoops."

"Can we go now?" Jasper questioned eagerly, also standing up. "Then let's go!"

"Okay," Shiloh said with a friendly look at him. "Remember what I said, though." She turned to Torkoal and lowered her head. "Thank you for letting us stay here awhile. It was nice. I hope we'll see you again soon."

"Me too," chirped the Piplup, waving her flippers. "Come back anytime. I bet he'll be able to tell you easier ways to get here." She looked over at Jasper, and he nodded in agreement.

"You came from Treasure Town, you said?" Torkoal asked, and Shiloh faced him.

"Yes, we did...and that reminds me...our map got all wet," Shiloh said, glancing at her satchel as she clambered out of the springs. She reached into her satchel and pulled out the map; it looked soggy with water. "I hope it'll be okay. I don't want to unfold it and tear it." I climbed out after her and stepped out of the way so Jasper could hop out of the spring too.

"I've been to Treasure Town several times," Torkoal stated, then pointed off behind us. I looked and saw that a rocky slope led down to a grassy plain. I couldn't see over the horizon; it seemed like a long way, but we could probably make it back long before it got dark. "If you go through the green meadow and continue on past the waterfall, you'll get to Treasure Town soon enough."

"Thank you! We can make it after that," Shiloh said, then turned and waved to everyone. "Bye! See you again soon!" Everyone waved back, and then the three of us turned and set off on the trek back to Treasure Town.

After we'd made it down the hill and traveled for about an hour, I felt a touch on my shoulders and glanced to my left to see Jasper hiking beside me. "What happened to you back in the cavern?"

"What do you mean?" I asked warily, though didn't have to think very hard to guess what he was talking about.

"You got dizzy," he answered, and I glanced ahead at Shiloh, but she was far in the lead and was glancing all around as she focused on landmarks. We'd just made it to the waterfall and I could make out the cliffs surrounding the cascade looming in the distance and even hear a faint roar from the falls. "Are you sick or something?"

"Not really, no..." I answered darkly. "It just happens sometimes."

"Huh," Jasper remarked thoughtfully. "Alright then, if you say so." I glanced at him and noticed there was a searching glint in his eyes. "I'll find out eventually though."

"There's nothing to find out," I shot back, raising my voice defensively. "Don't waste your time."

"Hey!" Shiloh yelled from up ahead, startling me into silence. "Knock it off. I'd still be able to hear you even if I was back in Treasure Town." I began kicking at the ground as I walked. "And speaking of Treasure Town, it won't be much longer until we get there. Probably another hour. I'll have some questions for Chatot when we get there."

"So, your Guildmaster was the one I saw, right?" Jasper asked with a studious look at me. "And he asked you to explore the waterfall anyway, even though he'd been there before?"

"That's right," Shiloh replied. "I've never seen a place like that, so I don't mind, but it's kind of odd."

"Wigglytuff is an odd Pokémon," I remarked, shaking my head. "I think even Chatot can't tell what he's thinking sometimes, and he's second-in-command."

"I think you're right about the Guild being interesting," Jasper said with a smile. "I asked Wigglytuff and managed to get some information when I met him first, but I lost him after that. He must have pushed the gem, too."

"Yeah, he did," I said without thinking, and glanced furtively at Jasper, hoping he hadn't noticed; he caught my eye briefly, frowned, then looked away towards the horizon.

"Anyway..." Jasper said, "I'll find somewhere to live in town so I can be around to help with explorations."

"I should have done this before, but now I want to look for a place for Crest to stay." Shiloh glanced backward at us. "He's a Marill and he joined just before you did. He won't be exploring with us for a little while, though."

"I'll check to see if there are any places to live," Jasper offered, "and let you know."

"Really?" Shiloh said. "Thanks, then. That sounds great." I exhaled sharply, knowing that the more Pokémon joined the team, the harder it would be to only have Shiloh know about my visions. Jasper was already suspicious about me, and I had no way of seeing how he'd react when he found out what he wanted to know...unless I wanted to try getting a vision about him, and I really didn't.

"I was just kidding, by the way," Jasper said abruptly, nudging my arm, and I looked sharply at him. "I don't really care about what's wrong with you. It was just fun to see your reaction." I scowled and looked away, not believing him. "If we're going to be on the same team," he continued, and I turned my head to stare at him, "you'd better lighten up." I was close to snapping at him, since Shiloh had told me the same thing and I didn't want to hear it, but I just glanced away again. Grinding my teeth, I jogged ahead and caught up with Shiloh.

"When we get back," I muttered to her, "I need to talk to you."

"What's going on?" She asked, looking concerned. "We can talk now."

"It's about the visions," I told her quietly, and her expression lifted into understanding.

"I got it," she whispered knowingly. "We'll talk about it once we get back."

* * *

**Suspicious Psyduck is suspicious! But hey, he's the second Pokémon to join the team, so hoorah! Gale is really outnumbered by water Pokémon now, though. Even if he's a grass type, he can't take three water types on all at once. Hopefully his teammates won't be so mean as to do a prank and gang up on him! But knock on wood and everything. Thanks for reading!  
Sorry for the weird formatting of the paragraphs that happens sometimes. I'm using Open Office, but someday I hope I can use Microsoft Word because I think it's a lot better at doing...well, pretty much everything. For now I hope it's okay though.**


	11. Rival

**Hey, there! How is everyone's year going so far? Good, I hope. According to the groundhog, Spring is coming early. I thought so when I saw a robin the other day, though. That's how I like to see if warm weather is coming. I'm a part-time bird watcher.  
I only own my human characters. Pokémon belong to Satoshi Tajiri, the awesome guy who started it all.  
Keep reviewing and leaving comments if you have time. They're really helping me write better!**

* * *

**Rivals**

"Welcome back!" Wigglytuff cheered as we followed Chatot into his room.

"You know..." Chatot said, looking a little disgruntled as he looked Jasper up and down, "we only have an explorer badge for Crest. We didn't know you'd come back with a new teammate."

"Uh, yeah...well, it's good that he joined," Shiloh explained, holding the new satchel in her paws. Chatot had given them to her right when we'd returned to the Guild. "We didn't know we'd meet someone new either."

"Well, as long as you don't mind waiting a few days, we'll get you new explorer equipment." Jasper shook his head at Chatot.

"It's fine with me," Jasper told him. "I'll wait." He took waddling steps forward towards Wigglytuff suddenly. "So you're the Guildmaster? Do you remember when you went to the waterfall cave? I met you while you were exploring." Wigglytuff crossed his arms and frowned in thought. Chatot flapped his wings and spoke up loudly.

"You met the Guildmaster?" He demanded. "When?"

"It was a long time ago now," Jasper replied. "About a year."

"Is this true, Guildmaster?" Chatot turned sharply on Wigglytuff. "If it is, then why did you ask Team Seekers to explore the cave?"

"Hmm...did I go there?" Wigglytuff spun around a couple times. "I may have, a while ago..." He smiled brightly at Chatot. "Oh, memories! It's so fun to explore!"

"So...you did, then," Jasper said, tipping his head and sounding a little confused. "Do you remember meeting me?" Wigglytuff turned his smile on the Psyduck.

"You want to join an exploration team! That's great!" He exclaimed warmly. "You'll make lots of friends, and have a lot of fun, too!"

"Yeah, I know I will," Jasper agreed. "But you didn't answer my question..."

"I bet you're tired, friendly friend!" Wigglytuff whirled around on the spot again. "Ask Shiloh and Gale to show you around town."

"That's a good idea," Chatot said. "We'll have your explorer badge and bag ready soon."

"Um, thanks," Jasper told him, still looking puzzled. Shiloh walked out the door, and I followed, then turned back to see if Jasper was coming. He took one last look at Wigglytuff, then headed over after me and pulled the door shut. "So," Jasper started, glancing at us, "I guess Wigglytuff is pretty...random."

"You can say that again," Shiloh laughed. "But he's really nice. If you need any help and we're not around, you can go talk to him." The three of us started up a conversation as we headed out of the Guild and down the stairs into town.

"We'd better go look around town," I spoke up. "I remember seeing a couple buildings in Treasure Town that looked empty. I always wondered why Doctor didn't use one, but maybe he likes living in trees more."

"You're a Treecko," Jasper told me with a laugh and I grimaced. "Don't you live in trees too?"

"Oh, right...yeah," I replied lamely, gripping my arms.

"You're pretty weird," Jasper snorted with a shake of his head.

_Takes one to know one, _I thought, annoyed. "Oh, look at that, we're here," I declared as we reached the bottom of the stairs. "By the way, Doctor is a Spinarak who helps Pokémon when they're hurt or sick. He has a shop around here."

"Good to know," Jasper said, nodding as we walked further into Treasure Town. Shiloh gestured to the right as we passed Duskull Bank; the floating Pokémon waved and we all waved back.

"That's the bank," Shiloh explained. "It's good to store money there before exploring so you don't lose it." As we continued we passed the Kecleon Brothers' shop; they didn't seem to be in at the moment, though. "And that's the Kecleon Market. You can buy apples, Oran berries, scarves and lots of other good things there. And the Kecleon Brothers, Leon and Ezra."

"Ezra's the purple one," I explained, then thought for a second. "I think. Even though they're different colors, they still look really alike."

"I know what you mean," Shiloh said. "And they can change colors. I've never seen them do it, but that's what I heard about Kecleon."

"Hmm," Jasper murmured as he nodded. "And what about that?" He gestured to the left.

"That's Doctor's place," I answered. "He's not here now either, though." I glanced back around and spotted one of the empty buildings on the left of the path; it was a pale sand-colored round house, had a cluster of green leaves at the top. It was just across from the other vacant place that used to be a shop, according to Shiloh, and the two buildings were identical except for the fact that the one on the right had some pink flowers on top of the leaves. "Hey, Jasper. Here are those houses I told you about." Jasper approached the one on the left and gazed up at it.

"Not bad," he remarked. "It looks nice, and it's close to the market."

"Hey, Gale," Shiloh said. "Think Crest would want to live in that shop? No one's used it for a while, but it's still a pretty new building."

"Let's ask him. He might." She looked behind me, and I turned to see Jasper approaching the house. He turned the round handle in the door and pushed; the round door swung inward to reveal a dark but clean—as far as I could tell—interior.

"Cool," Jasper exclaimed. "I like it. It's just big enough for me, too. There's room to sleep and put some extra things inside." For some reason, I glanced up at the sky; even though it was clear out, with few clouds in the sky, I had suddenly wondered if it the weather was going to change sometime.

"Does it smell like rain to either of you?" I asked. "Even though it looks nice now...maybe it's going to rain soon."

"It's your weather sense," Jasper said, stepping out of the house. "Treecko can predict the weather with their tails." I widened my eyes with interest. Even though I couldn't remember anything, I still seemed to know lots of things about Pokémon...well, except that. I guess I hadn't learned it as a human.

"They can?" I asked in wonder, then too late knew I shouldn't have, at least not in front of Jasper. Shiloh lightly slapped her forehead and winced. "I mean, that's right. I just forgot." Jasper raised his eyebrows skeptically, confirming that my pathetic cover-up had been doomed from the start.

"How wouldn't you know that?" Jasper asked, and he didn't laugh like before. He was looking dubiously at me, and I scuffed the ground with my feet in apprehension. "You're either really dense or just...I don't even know." A long silence stretched out between the three of us, and thankfully it was broken when I heard someone calling our names.

"Hey! Shiloh, Gale! It's suppertime!" Callo was running down the path towards us and stopped just short of Jasper, panting heavily. "Come on back." He caught sight of Jasper and smiled shyly at him. "I haven't see you 'round here before."

"I just joined their team. My name's Jasper."

"I'm Callo. Nice to meet you! You should hurry to supper. I'll share with you if you want! You should see more of the Guild."

"Cool," Jasper said, grinning. "Thanks." I hung back with Shiloh while Jasper and Callo walked ahead of us, talking animatedly.

"I really messed that up," I groaned under my breath. "I look like a Treecko, but when it comes down to it, there's no way I can pretend."

"You just have to learn more about Treecko," Shiloh said. "You know about Pokémon; just try and remember what you know about Treecko."

"I know they climb because of the hooks on their paws," I mumbled, then lifted my paws to see the little barbs in my skin, "but I didn't know about the weather thing." I gave a long sigh. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about...Jasper knows something's different about me. He'll find out everything about me sooner or later. I don't know what to do."

"Well, you could come out and tell everyone," Shiloh told me at length. "Let's go eat dinner, Gale," Shiloh murmured. "We're both hungry and tired. Things will be better tomorrow."

"But I don't want to tell anyone!" I yelled before I could stop myself; ahead I saw Jasper and Callo whirl and stare in alarm.

"Wh-what's the matter, Gale?" Callo exclaimed, his eyes worried and startled. "Why are you yelling? Do ya feel alright?"

"I can't...risk it, Shiloh," I said in a quieter tone, clenching my paws. "Eating in front of everyone...I'd touch something, and..." Shiloh glanced back at Jasper and Callo, who were eyeing us warily, then met my eyes again. I jumped when her paws cupped my face.

"Gale, listen to me...I'll cover for you if something happens." I shook my head, lifting my paws to pull her arms away, but my arms were shivering; even though visions could happen if someone touched me, I didn't want to touch her and set one off. "Alright?" She asked softly. "That's what I'm here for."

"What do you mean?" I asked, voice shaking. Shiloh lowered her hands and took my arms.

"I'm your teammate, and the leader of Team Seekers. It's my responsibility to watch out for you, but I want to help you." She pulled on my arms and I took a couple tentative steps forward, looking at her hesitantly. "Come on. I'll be with you." I relented and walked with her up the stairs to the Guild, while Callo and Jasper moved along silently. I was relieved when Ran and Duthie let us inside, and I'd almost reached the dining room when Jasper's voice lifted from behind me.

"If asking you all that bothered you that much, then you're definitely weird."

"Shut it, Jasper," I snapped before rushing inside the room and taking my seat at the far end of the table. I looked up carefully and saw that Shiloh had taken her usual seat to the left of me. The rest of the Guild recruits wandered or burrowed (in Duthie and Dugtrio's case) into the dining room. Ran, Phyllo and Yabi brought the food in this time, set it down and sat at the far end of the table, and soon everyone was eating hungrily. I picked out a big red apple, a perfectly cooked Oran berry poffin and a grass Gummi. Shiloh had two Oran poffins and a blue Gummi, and she was now chewing on the Gummi.

"Hey, there, Shiloh and Gale." Callo was sitting across from me, his usual cheerful smile in place, and Lysa was sitting diagonally from me. The Bidoof had a blue Gummi, Lysa had a pale green Gummi, and both had apples on their plates.

"Are you just having a bad day, Gale?" Lysa asked, and she was fidgeting with her Gummi. "Did something happen on a mission?"

"No, it was a good mission," I replied. "Even though we almost got drowned by a big wave."

"Huh?!" Callo exclaimed frantically. "A wave? Drowned?"

"Yeah, that was pretty scary," Shiloh said with a grin, and I shuddered.

"You're over it already?" I sighed.

"I'm a Water type," Shiloh laughed. "My parents aid I could swim almost right after I was born."

"Me too," Callo agreed. "Even though I get scared easily."

"Are you feeling okay?" Shiloh asked me. "You need to see Doctor?"

"Oh...no, I'm fine," I answered.

"You're strong against Water types," Shiloh said wonderingly, "but I guess that doesn't mean you're good at swimming." I jumped when Jasper laughed sharply.

"Why was there a huge wave?" Callo asked curiously.

"In one of the caves, there were a lot of gems, and I touched one of them. That made the wave come." Shiloh looked at Jasper, who took a seat across from her.

"The cave was booby-trapped?" Lysa exclaimed, her mouth open a little in surprise. "Why would it be a trap?"

"There were a lot of gems," I thought aloud. "Maybe so no one would steal them."

"I have no idea why, though," Shiloh snorted, taking a bite of her poffin. "Gale and I tried to take some, but they were really stuck in the ground."

"Maybe some Pokémon would be able to use an attack to get a gem free," Callo put in, "so someone put the switch on the big gem."

"I don't know who put the switch on it," Jasper spoke up, looking thoughtful, "but I always though it was to keep outsiders away, but obviously it doesn't always work."

"I'm glad that you went there, though!" Callo said eagerly, then suddenly looked sheepish. "I don't mean it was good that you were caught by that wave, but you found a new teammate, and it's fun when new members join." He glanced over at Jasper as he spoke.

"Looks like you two were getting along," Shiloh said, and I realized she was right. I wasn't sure why Callo and Jasper had been chatting as if they'd known each other for a long time. Maybe Water-types all got along with each other. No...that didn't make sense. I was a Grass-type and Shiloh was a Water-type, so if types had anything to do with how Pokémon got along then we might have disliked each other. I'd seen a couple of exploration teams around the Guild with opposing types, though. One team had a Ponyta and Camerupt with a Bellsprout leader, and another team was made up of a Swellow and a Wurmple. I'd had human friends that were different than me...probably, anyway. If some more things washed up on the beach that might give me clues, that'd be good. It wouldn't be a bad idea to go check the beach again later, like Yabi had suggested, but I wouldn't eat any random Gummis that washed up.

"Yup!" Callo agreed cheerily, and I brought my attention back to the conversation. "We talked a lot about the waterfall cave. It was fun hearing about it."

"We were having fun talking...before your freak-out session, anyway," Jasper said with a sly look, and I swallowed hard and stared down at my plate. It hadn't been too hard to get along with the other Guild Pokémon so far, despite the fact that I wasn't used to being this close to them, but for some reason I didn't like Jasper that much. I didn't want to touch it. I really didn't want to. But my stomach was aching from hunger and I knew that I had to eat, so I gingerly picked up the grass Gummi from my plate and took a bite out of it.

"What do you mean?" Callo asked with a confused look at Shiloh and me. "Oh, you mean on the way back. What was that about?"

"Uh...that was just..." I faltered, then met Jasper's eyes for a moment before giving Callo a friendly look. "It was just a little argument."

"An...argument?" Callo repeated nervously.

"Yeah...but it was my fault, pretty much." I shook my head. "It's fine now, so don't worry."

"Is that so?" Jasper murmured. "That's good. I wouldn't have wanted to join your team when a fight was going on."

"Jasper's wanted to come to the Guild for a long time," Callo explained hastily, still looking nervous, "but never managed to."

"I didn't know where to go, and Wigglytuff didn't talk to me much." Jasper rubbed his neck. "Musta been too busy to explain."

"I wish Wigglytuff had said earlier that he'd been to that cave," Shiloh sighed as she finished up her blue Gummi and started on an Oran poffin. "It was really amazing, though, seeing all those gems and going to the hot springs."

"And now I'm on your team," Jasper added, sounding a little smug. I looked sharply at him.

"Can't have everything," I said darkly. Jasper looked a little puzzled, then rolled his eyes. Callo and Shiloh looked surprised.

"I didn't have to help _you_ out," Jasper told me slowly. "Shiloh would have made it to the springs alright, but you wouldn't have."

"Come on!" Shiloh growled. "I tried to ignore you two, but I couldn't. Stop arguing!" She gave me a long glare and I swallowed hard. "Jasper's on our team now." I lowered my head and felt ashamed, but knew that for some reason I didn't like Jasper. It was the way he was acting, but it was also the way he was curious about the way I was. He didn't know yet I acted strangely because of the visions, but if he wanted to I knew he could find out. Anyone in the Guild could, and I didn't doubt that if I didn't tell them all first, eventually they would figure out the truth about me on their own. And if that's how it happened, then they might be angry that I didn't tell them right away.

"Sorry, Shiloh. I think I'm tired." Conversation near our end of the table had slowed a little, and Lysa was giving me a concerned look. "I'm going to bed now."

"Alright. I'm almost done eating, so see you later." Shiloh's voice was clipped and she was frowning at me. I clenched my teeth and turned to Jasper; if Shiloh hadn't been there, I would have just left without another word.

"Listen. I was kidding earlier."

"I don't care," Jasper stated with another roll of his eyes. "Go get some rest."

"'Night, Gale," Callo offered timidly, and I looked over at him, trying not to act angry towards him. It was just Jasper that was irritating me.

"Goodnight." As quickly as I could, I picked up the rest of my meal, then left the dining area and headed quickly through the Guild to the room Shiloh and I shared. With a tired groan I flopped down on my straw bed and burrowed under it a little. It was a little cold in the room for some reason, but I curled up and soon felt warmer. I shut my eyes tightly and tried to get Shiloh's disapproving expression out of my mind. I felt guilty for being so contrary, but couldn't help it. Whenever Jasper talked to me, I felt like he was accusing me of something. I was sure that he knew something was off about me, and even though it was unlikely that he could tell I'd been a human, it seemed that he didn't like me. "That's an understatement," I scoffed to myself, rolling over on my back and glaring at the ceiling. _I'm not exactly trying to get along with him, but..._

"Hey, Gale." I jumped and sat up quickly. Shiloh had just walked into our room. "Something's wrong, isn't it?" She was eyeing me with an annoyed expression and I met her eyes awkwardly.

"I just...well..."

"Why are you such in a bad mood? And what's the deal between you and Jasper?"

"He knows something's wrong with me," I mumbled quietly, then took a breath and spoke up. "He saw me having a vision earlier, and since then..."

"He's been suspicious...and that's what's been bothering you." Shiloh let out a breath. "You don't have to tell him anything unless you want to. He couldn't prove much."

"I can't help having visions." Shiloh began shaking her head. "I know I keep bringing this up, but if we get more members, they'll know something's off about me too."

"You don't want to let any more Pokémon join?" She asked in a subdued tone. Shiloh narrowed her eyes and looked away sharply with a scoff.

"Not...really...if it means they'd find out!"

"Well, fine!" Shiloh yelled. "And you know, it's just you that has a problem!"

"Hang on!" I protested, jumping up. "This isn't something I caused! I don't know why I'm like this."

"What do you want me to do then? Huh?" Shiloh growled, then turned quickly and began to head out. I reached for her, hesitated, then put my paw on her left shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Shiloh scoffed.

"If you don't want to be on the team...then you don't have to," she muttered, then struck my paw away. I watched silently, confused, as she turned and stomped out of the room. I moved after her, but a bright flash made me stop dead. I stumbled and sat down before the dizziness made me fall.

_I wanted to find out about my relic fragment, but forming a team will help me find who hurt you!_

I shook my head and crawled unsteadily to my bed, then rolled onto my back and closed my eyes.

_Was that Shiloh's voice? It was her, I think...what was she talking about? I could ask and explain how I knew...but she probably doesn't want to talk to me._

I yanked my satchel over my head and hurled it towards the opposite wall. It hit the window pane and fell down to the floor with a soft thump.

* * *

**Adding some conflict was fun to try. Not that I enjoy it when people get into fights but you know. It's still early in Shiloh and Gale's exploration days so they're not entirely used to each other even though they get along pretty well.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	12. Team Skull

**Finally, the notorious team shows up. Enjoy the chapter!**

**I don't own Pokémon or the Mystery Dungeon series. I own my characters, sort of, but not the Pokémon species. Thanks for reading!**

**Team Skull**

Yawning widely, I stretched out my arms and legs, then sat up wearily and rubbed my neck. It felt sore and I wondered if I'd slept on it funny. Glancing around, I saw that weak sunlight was streaming in through the window, and below it I saw my satchel. The bag was in a crumpled heap and I remembered tossing it away last night before going to sleep. Then the memory of getting into a fight with Shiloh came back. She wasn't in her bed and I wondered if she'd come back to the room at all last night. Slowly I trudged over to the wall and retrieved my satchel, and slung it over my shoulder as I headed into the hall. I saw Ran heading towards me, but he was looking over his shoulder and talking to Duthie. I jumped out of the way, but not fast enough, so we collided heavily. I stumbled backwards and fell.

"Whoa!" Ran exclaimed, turning around. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," I said as I picked myself up. Glancing around, I and saw that Lysa, Callo, Yabi, Phyllo and Dugtrio were waiting to do the morning cheer. I looked around the floor but didn't see Shiloh anywhere. "Have you seen Shiloh this morning?"

"No one's seen her," Ran replied, a wondering frown on his face. I quietly watched Duthie burrow over to join the others. "She must have gotten up even earlier than you."

"If she's not inside the Guild," I said, "then Chatot must have been up, too, or else there would have been a lot of noise." Ran nodded understandingly. I'd found out the hard way that Chatot guarded the exit to the Guild, apparently to make sure no one ran away. The first night I'd staying at the Guild I'd had to go the bathroom. Shiloh had explained to me earlier that Pokémon in the Guild would just find an out-of-the-way bush outside somewhere after I'd noticed there wasn't anything inside the Guild that was designated for that kind of thing. So I'd been heading outside in the middle of the night but had unfortunately bumped into Chatot. The annoying bird Pokémon had been perched on the final ladder leading out of the Guild. I'd bumped into him and had almost fallen back down the ladder when he'd started attacking me with his claws and beak.

I'd had to scream to let Chatot know that I just had to use the bathroom, and the whole Guild (except Wigglytuff) had come to see what was going on. After I'd explained my problem, Chatot had let me leave that one time since I hadn't understood the Guild rules yet. Because of that incident I'd taught myself to go outside and use the bathroom before turning in for the night. Shiloh had known that Chatot guarded the exit, but had been busy explaining lots of other things about the Guild to me, and I hadn't thought to ask about what I would do if I had to go to the bathroom at night, which had resulted in the whole embarrassing situation. I wondered now if Shiloh had told Jasper about Chatot guarding the Guild exit at night. As I thought of the Psyduck I scowled to myself. He wasn't inside the Guild, though I reminded myself that he had a place in town and wouldn't be here yet. Maybe Shiloh was checking on him.

"Three! Smiles go for miles!" Everyone finished up the cheer and raised their respective extremities (paws, claws, leaves, etc...) into the air.

"Before you all get to work," Chatot said eagerly, "I have an announcement." I glanced around for Shiloh but still didn't see her anywhere. Whatever Chatot was going to say, it seemed important, and I made a note to tell her whenever I saw her.

"Oooh! Really?! What is it?" Lysa burst out excitedly, bouncing up and down.

"Tell us! Come on!" Ran shouted, smiling from ear to ear. Callo nodded and smiled brightly.

"Heh heh. Come on," Phyllo urged Chatot. "I need to get working on my Swap Cauldron."

"Well, everyone," Chatot began, straightening up with an eager expression, "far to the east of here there is a large lake called Fogbound Lake. Several teams have explored the area before, but haven't found anything. Guildmaster Wigglytuff has proposed that the Guild go on an expedition to Fogbound Lake."

"A lake?" I wondered aloud. "And if it's to the east...sounds like it's a lot farther than the waterfall cave."

"It is far away," Chatot answered. "But it will be worth the trip."

"Eeek! That's great! It's been so long since the last one!" Lysa cheered and spun around.

"Y'all found a lot of treasure last time!" Callo piped up. "Maybe that'll happen again!"

"But you'll be picking members this time too, right?" Ran asked. "Everyone won't be able to go."

"That's correct," Chatot answered with a nod. "The expedition will take place a few days from now. If you want to be chosen to go, then work hard!"

"Yup, yup...that's exciting..." Callo spoke up, beaming. Suddenly his expression changed and became a little dejected.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Well, last time there was an expedition, I didn't get to go...so I hope that I'll be able to go along on this one!" He scuffed at the floor with his front paws. "But I'm not so good at exploring, even though I try my best."

"Don't worry, Callo," Lysa encouraged the Bidoof. "I'll help you. You'll get to go this time!"

"I sure hope so," Callo sighed, then smiled at the Sunflora. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome! I wouldn't just wait by without helping you out." Lysa patted Callo on the back. "You're getting better at exploring, Callo. Just keep trying your best." Callo ducked his head and smiled.

"That's it, everyone!" Chatot spread his wings. "Back to work! The Guildmaster and I will let everyone know who is going on the expedition."

"Alright! I'm getting excited!" Ran declared in an especially loud voice. "Let's work hard!" Simeon burrowed into the floor and a trail of earth led to the Outlaw Bulletin Board. Yabi was standing in front of that bulletin board and stepped quickly aside to avoid the raised trail of earth. It was Dugtrio's job to change the old jobs out for new ones. Sometimes Duthie helped him, but normally the Diglett worked with Ran as Gatekeeper. Dugtrio's name was Simeon, I'd learned recently, and he was Duthie's father. I wandered towards the ladder and looked around at the others on the way.

Lysa and Bidoof were standing nearby and chatting, while as usual Phyllo was checking his Swap Cauldron. Ran was yelling excitedly to Duthie and a moment later the Diglett burrowed into the ground. I studied the floor and decided, since Shiloh wasn't here yet, that I'd go outside and get some dirt to fill up the holes left by Duthie and Simeon. Hopefully I'd see Shiloh along the way. I put both paws on the ladder and sighed, about to start climbing when I noticed two familiar Pokémon looking at the Job Bulletin Board. They weren't standing, since they didn't have feet to stand on. I realized it was the Zubat and Koffing that had attacked Shiloh and me the day we'd signed up at the Guild. I was wondering if I should go over and say something to them when they suddenly turned and spotted me.

"Hey...you!" The Koffing exclaimed, eyes widening.

"You're that Treecko!" The Zubat put in loudly, fluttering just behind the Koffing.

"And you're those thieves," I said coldly, crossing my arms. "What are you up to?"

"Up to?" The Koffing chuckled, seeming to get a little of his nerve back. "When is it suspicious for an exploration team to look for jobs?" I snorted and gave them a look.

"You're an exploration team? Do you get Pokémon into trouble instead of helping them?" The Zubat flew closer to me and bared his teeth.

"Since you asked us," he hissed, "why are _you_ here, then?"

"Well, I was about to fix the floor," I replied, gesturing to the holes left by Simeon and Duthie, and the Koffing chuckled.

"You were right about him, Radar," he snorted. "He doesn't seem all that smart."

"I meant," the Zubat, apparently called Radar, put in, "why are you on an exploration team when you're a weakling?" I narrowed my eyes.

"I guess you were so scared that you forgot Shiloh and I fought you off."

"That was because that Squirtle was with you," the Koffing said with a smirk. "We could have beaten you if she hadn't been there."

"Especially if the Chief had been there," Radar added with a fanged grin. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"Who's the Chief?" I asked, trying to sound unconcerned. Shiloh had been the one to make them leave for good that time. I'd managed to scare Koffing and Zubat off the first time I'd seen them, but if it was three against one, I probably wouldn't be able to do that again. "If he's as easy to scare off as you, how will he help?"

"I wouldn't say that if I were you," Radar laughed, shaking his head.

"I think I smell him coming now," Koffing declared, glancing towards the ladder. I frowned at them skeptically.

"What do you...mean...?" A strong scent suddenly hit me and I gagged and covered my nose and mouth with both paws. "What the...?" I coughed and turned around, then jumped back, startled. A four-legged Pokémon, easily a few feet taller than me and a lot bigger, was looming over me with a sinister expression.

"Eeek! Yuck!" I heard Lysa's voice shout from behind me.

"Move, wimp!" The Skunktank grinned, then flicked his long tail. I covered my eyes just as a spray issued from the Pokémon's tail-tip. I gagged as a stifling, foul smell filled the air. The scent didn't just make it hard to breathe, but my eyes were starting to sting and I could only see smudges of the Pokémon around me. Staggering back in a daze, I heard Lysa, Ran, Yabi, Callo and Rin reacting to the smell.

"What is that?! It reeks like rotten cheese!"

"GROSS! WHO'S DOING THAT?!"

"Hey, hey...it wasn't me...no way..."

"That sure does smell foul, yup, yup...I think I'm... gonna lie down for a bit..."

"I really...lost my appetite..."

"Nice one, Chief!"

"You really got him!" Koffing and Radar's voices added to the noise and I looked around, trying to see them, but my eyes were still stinging and I couldn't see much. I uncovered my nose and mouth, since the smell was getting to me anyway. Rising to my feet, I stumbled around, hoping that I could get away from the smell. I couldn't see clearly, but remembered that the ladder had been right in front of me before Skunktank had arrived and started terrorizing everyone. The ground vanished without warning and I fell forward with a grunt of surprise. A second later I tasted dirt and realized that I'd fallen into a hole.

"Whoa! Hahaha!" Radar screeched with laughter. "That looked like it really hurt!" Furiously, I picked myself up and rushed towards the Zubat's voice, but tripped and fell into another hole.

"Come on." I heard a voice right next to me the same moment I was tugged out of the hole. "This place is a mess." I blinked hard, but still couldn't see. The Pokémon's voice, though, was easy to place.

"Jasper?" I coughed. "Where's Skuntank?"

"He's gone," the Psyduck replied. "What happened here?"

"Some Pokémon came here and started trouble."

"I could tell," Jasper said, a grimace in his voice. "They caused trouble, alright." I rubbed my eyes and felt that the stinging was starting to go away. I could see more clearly now and saw Shiloh nearby patting Lysa and talking quietly. "I saw them on the way in. They were talking about an expedition."

"There's going to be an expedition in a few days," I told the Psyduck, recalling Chatot's announcement. "Only Pokémon who are picked can go."

"An expedition?" Jasper repeated loudly. "Great! I'm going to tell Shiloh."

"So where were you two this morning?" I asked, frowning slightly.

"Shiloh showed me around Treasure Town, and I started fixing up my new place."

"Sounds good." Turning, I started heading towards Shiloh, who was still talking with Lysa.

"So that's what Chatot said! Isn't it exciting?" Lysa squeaked. "An expedition!"

"I can't wait! If I get picked, that is." Lysa waved her leaves energetically.

"I bet you'll get picked! You have to! You're really good at exploring!" Shiloh turned suddenly and smiled at me. Almost as soon as it appeared, though, her mouth dropped open.

"Don't move! There's a hole!" My right leg twisted as I pitched forward. Grumbling, I climbed out of the hole and rubbed my ankle. "Are you okay?" I rubbed my foot and stood gingerly, putting a little weight on it.

"I think I'm fine." Glancing around at the floor I remembered what I should be doing and decided to start fixing the floor now before anyone else could fall in the holes. "I'll be back. I need to fill the holes in."

"And get a bath while you're at it," Shiloh noted with a little smile of teasing. "If we're lucky the smell will go away soon."

"It was awful," Lysa said with a tight frown. "I hope those three never come back. I still smell like rotten cheese."

"I want to go take a rest," Callo murmured, shaking his head and wobbling a little. "That smell made me feel sick."

"I hear ya," Ran muttered, rubbing his forehead. "Wonder if Chatot and the Guildmaster saw what happened."

"They aren't here now, at least," Yabi observed, looking at Wigglytuff's door. "Chatot usually stays there. Wonder where he went."

"Maybe to Treasure Town," I spoke up, glancing at the ladder. "I'm going there now, so I'll look for him." Shiloh nodded and gave a little wave.

"See you later," she said quietly, and it sounded like she was a little down about something. It didn't take me long to guess. I nodded at her, then turned and quickly climbed the ladder. I'd have to apologize to her later. I knew I couldn't help getting the visions, but maybe soon I'd get used to them so they wouldn't be a big problem. I didn't feel right quitting Team Seekers. There was no where else I could safely go, but I didn't want to leave Shiloh. That would be wrong, and if I could I wanted to figure out more about that vision I'd had about her. I jumped onto the next floor, then headed for the Guild's final ladder. When I ran into Treasure Town I heard someone call to me.

"Gale? What...happened to you?" Whipping around, I saw Crest, Sakura, Sarah and Torobi approaching. Torobi had been the one to yell my name, and he looked surprised, bu covered his nose and grimaced. "Did you skip a few baths?" Sarah held their noses, and Sakura pulled her green bandana up over her face. Sarah let her paws drop and looked embarrassed, and Sakura gradually pulled the bandana back down around her neck. I saw that despite the Pikachu and Gardevoir's wrinkled noses, they were smiling, though with a hint of trepidation. Torobi and Crest looked a little disgusted. I briefly sniffed at myself and grimaced; I did still smell bad, unfortunately. Sarah glanced up at Torobi and scoffed lightly.

"You never take baths, Tor," she teased, and the Charmander gave her a wide-eyed look of alarm.

"We talked about this! I can't get in water!" Sarah patted Torobi's shoulders and laughed.

"I know, don't worry." Torobi sighed heavily and slumped his shoulders. "I have to tease you sometimes."

"Don't joke about baths," Torobi muttered, then laughed a bit and glanced at me. "So, what did happen to you?"

"A Skuntank came to the Guild," I answered. Sakura looked vaguely nauseated and Sarah cringed.

"How nice of him," Torobi said sarcastically. "It'll be a few hours before the smell goes away."

"Nice," I sighed in annoyance. "Almost everyone else at the Guild got hit by the smell, too."

"It's fine," Sarah told me, holding up her paws. "You don't smell as bad as an actual Skuntank." Sakura nodded, smiling faintly, though was pulling a little at her scarf, like she wanted to pull it up. According to Sarah and Torobi, she didn't talk much, but that it was easy to tell what she was thinking because of her expressions.

"I have something to tell you, anyway, Gale," Crest spoke up, his face brightening. "Mother's getting better! She was well enough today for me to leave her at home with Yuki, so I came to tell you!"

"That's great!" I exclaimed, cheering up at the news. "Shiloh will be glad to hear that too. So you'll be able to come on explorations soon?"

"I think so," Crest responded, nodding excitedly. "And I found a house back there. I think I'm going to stay there when Mother's all better." He beamed at me and did a little jump. "What are you doing?"

"Fixing the floor in the Guild." Crest frowned and looked a little worried.

"Did something happen?" I shook my head a couple times.

"No. Two of the Guild members, Duthie and Simeon, always make holes in the floor. Duthie is a Diglett and Simeon's a Dugtrio." A look of understanding replaced the anxious look on Crest's face.

"Ah, I get it. Is it just your job or do Pokémon take turns?"

"We take turns," I confirmed. "I was going to go into town, but..." I winced, "I don't think anyone will be happy to see me."

"Why was that Skuntank there?" Torobi wondered. "I'm guessing it wasn't just a random visit." I glared down at the ground, then glanced back up at the Charmander with a frustrated expression.

"He's on an exploration team with a Zubat and a Koffing. They tried to steal something from Shiloh once." Sarah's expression darkened slightly and she glanced over her shoulder.

"We saw them. They're shopping around in town."

"I'll get the dirt somewhere else," I sighed. "And I can always talk to everyone another time. Thanks for letting me know." Sarah smiled and nodded, then adjusted her black bandana. It had slipped sideways a little.

"Take care. We're going off to explore a dungeon. It was good to see you. Tell Shiloh we say hello."

"Yeah, you too," I told her with a return smile. "Have a good exploration." Sakura waved shyly, lowering her head, and strolled off with Sarah. Torobi lifted his head, a half-smile on his face, then waved in farewell.

"See you," he chuckled. "For everyone's sake, don't run into that Skuntank again."

"If I don't see him again," I laughed, "it'll be too soon." After the small group had gone, Crest turned to me.

"What do you need to fix the floor?" He asked, his black eyes questioning.

"I need to take dirt back to the Guild and fill the holes in," I explained, then glanced around and saw a place near the entrance of town. "I got it here a couple times before."

"I'll help," Crest stated. "I was going to shop, but if those Pokémon are there now, I don't want to meet them." Crest shuddered a bit. "I've had enough with bad Pokémon."

"So have I," I agreed grimly. 'They'll leave soon, hopefully." The Marill nodded eagerly. "Thanks for helping me out."

"You and Shiloh helped Yuki and me," Crest said brightly, "so anytime I can, I'll definitely help you two out." I headed over to the spot where I'd gotten dirt to fix the floor last time and saw the spots where I'd dug holes. I hadn't been used to digging with my paws, so my job had taken a while, but eventually I'd gotten the hang of it. Turning, I saw Crest standing beside me and thought for a moment.

"How about I dig and you help me carry it back?" The water Pokémon nodded, and I knelt and started scratching at the ground with my front paws. The earth was soft so it was pretty easy, and soon I'd dug up some hard clumps of dirt. I picked two clumps up in my arms and handed them to Crest. "I think a few more should be enough. Could you take those back?" The Marill nodded with a smile, then turned and rushed up the stone steps to the Guild. "Thanks!" I called after him. A little out of breath, I sat for a moment, then started digging again and found more clumps of dirt. I picked up two medium clumps of earth and ran towards the stairs. Glancing towards Treasure Town I saw Skuntank, Radar and Koffing heading my way, so I ran faster and hoped they hadn't seen me. Once at the grate, I called quickly down the hole and Ran returned my yell, saying I could come in. Before going down the ladder I switched the dirt clumps to my left arm, then climbed slowly down and finally made it to the damaged floor. Crest had already filled two of the holes in the floor with the dirt clumps and was working on another one. There were only two more left. "Looks good," I told him as I walked closer. "I'll fix the other ones." Crest glanced up briefly and nodded. As I approached a hole and started filling it up, I felt a tap on my shoulders. Turning my head a bit, I saw Shiloh standing over me with Jasper just behind her.

"Gale, I want to say sorry." I turned around all the way so that I was facing her.

"Thanks," I mumbled, rubbing my left arm, "but I don't know if you should."

"Why not?" Shiloh questioned sharply.

"I think it was more my fault than yours." The Squirtle let out a breath. Jasper waited quietly behind her, watching me carefully.

"No, it wasn't," Shiloh answered slowly.

"I think it was both of your faults," Jasper said, crossing his arms. "It seems like you misunderstood each other and got mad for no reason."

"What?" I asked him sharplyand Shiloh held up her paws.

"I knew what was bothering you," she explained, "but I was worried you were going to leave the team, so I got upset."

"I thought you wanted me to leave," I said, and Shiloh smiled wryly at me.

"I was just mad," she confessed, scuffing at the ground. "I would have said anything at that point."

"I said it was a misunderstanding," Jasper snorted. "This was all because you lost your memory?"

"How'd you know?" I exclaimed, then remembered that I'd said it myself at dinner just a short time ago. "I guess you heard from one of the Guild members."

"Callo mentioned it," Jasper said, then smiled as if he was going to laugh. "If you think telling Pokémon keeps your secret, you're doing it wrong."

"I'd better get back to work," I mumbled. "I think I'll tell Crest. If he hangs around the Guild he'll find out anyway."

"Can we leave soon?" Jasper muttered. "It still smells bad in here."

"Yeah, we can go," Shiloh told the Psyduck as he stalked off, then turned to me. "Meet me by the steps when you're done." I nodded and she wandered off towards the bulletin board, and I returned to my work. It didn't take too long for me to fill in one hole, and then I moved closer to Crest as he started to fill in another one.

"I got this," I told him, and broke up the dirt clump over the last hole in the floor. "And you need to know something." He looked up, his focused expression changing to curiosity.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's going to sound strange...probably, but hear me out."

"Go ahead," Crest urged, and I swallowed.

"The thing is, before I joined the Guild, Shiloh found me on the beach near Treasure Town. I knew my name but I couldn't remember anything else about myself." The Marill jolted a little and stared wide-eyed at me.

"You have amnesia?" He questioned in confusion. "How did it happen?"

"I've thought about it," I answered quietly, "but I still don't know how."

"Something bad must have happened to you," he murmured, looking a little sympathetically at me. "I wonder what..." I looked down and filled in the hole in the floor and patted the dirt so it was packed in. It almost looked like nothing had happened. That would change soon though, and the floor-repairing process would start again.

"I still don't know that, either," I admitted with a nervous chuckle. "But my memories have to come back sometime." Crest stood up and brushed the dirt from his body, and I stood too.

"I think soon they will," Crest agreed. "It was probably difficult to tell me, but thanks for explaining."

"Is it...weird?" I said anxiously, and Crest shook his head.

"It's a bad thing to have happen," he told me, "but you're not weird. I'm sorry you lost your memory."

"Oh," I said, a small flood of relief erasing my nervous feeling. "Okay." Crest's serious face lifted into a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry about Pokémon thinking you're weird or not," he said. "This is what I think," Crest said, frowning thoughtfully. "The way you are wouldn't work for someone else, but it's just fine for you." I found myself nodding, then glanced around and saw that Shiloh and Jasper weren't by the job board anymore.

"Hey, we're going on a mission," I told Crest quickly, turning back to him, and his eyes lit up momentarily.

"I wish I could come," he said longingly, "but I have to get back home now."

"Sorry," I said, wincing. "I forgot. I hope your mother gets better soon."

"She will. She's doing great now." Crest and I headed outside and down the stairs, and I saw Shiloh and Jasper chatting off to the side of the stone steps.

"There you are!" Shiloh exclaimed when she saw us. I noticed that her paws were behind her back. "We're all ready. You have enough supplies, right?"

"Yeah," I answered. "I have enough for all three of us."

"Good," Shiloh said, nodding approvingly. She smiled at Crest. "Are you coming with us?"

"I can't today," he answered with a shake of his head. "I have to get home. But I'll be able to come on explorations soon."

"Before you go," Shiloh said with a secretive grin, "this is for you." She pulled out her paws, revealing that she'd been hiding a light brown satchel behind her back. Crest stared at her and then at the satchel.

"This is for me?" He asked in amazement.

"Yeah! Take it! It's your satchel. You'll be able to hold any items you find on explorations in it." Crest took the satchel carefully and then looped the strap over his head.

"Thank you!" He exclaimed happily. "It's great!"

"We're glad you like it. Your badge is in there, too, and an orange scarf. There are also Gummis in there for you and your family." She beamed at Crest, who seemed to be speechless as he stared at his new bag. "Chatot asked for them."

"He did?"

"Yep," Shiloh answered. "Well, we'll let you get home."

"See you! Thank you so much!" Crest waved energetically, then rushed off. I smiled as I watched him go.

"He about turned inside-out," Shiloh laughed. "Isn't he sweet?"

"Mmm...yeah," I agreed finally. Crest was definitely a nice Pokémon, that was for sure, but personally I wouldn't call him sweet. Jasper grumbled impatiently.

"Are we gonna get going?" He demanded.

"We're going now, Mr. Bossy," Shiloh chuckled. "Come on. We all have to work hard if we're going to get picked for that expedition!"

* * *

**Whoah, I felt like I was typing forever on this chapter because I did it in stages (and because it's ten pages), but I got it the way I wanted and it was fun to type. Enjoy! Thanks again for reading!  
Oh, and Crest will be going along on explorations soon, I promise.  
Amnesia, the Dark Descent. The word amnesia always reminds me of that horror game now. I'm glad Gale didn't have that creepy amnesia situation...it would be horrible.**


	13. Cooperation

**Alright, here we go! I don't have much to say this chapter. It's mostly interaction with Jasper, the new member, and next chapter it's Apple Woods. Enjoy!**

**I don't own Pokémon or the games, I just own my human characters. Speaking of the human characters, especially Gale's friends, Brandon and Sam, I haven't forgotten about them. There will be more about them later because they are still important to the story. I didn't give much of a chance for them to develop in the first story but they'll get their chance.**

**Thanks for reading and sticking with me all this time. I make mistakes in the story, probably a lot. Thanks to all of you though I can fix the mistakes and make the story better. :)**

* * *

**Cooperation**

"Jasper, you should keep up," I called back to the Psyduck, trying and probably failing not to sound irritated. "Pokémon can attack any time, and it's better to stay together."

"He's right," Shiloh agreed, turning. "Walk up here with us, Jasper." Wordlessly the Psyduck waddled quickly up and pushed his way between Shiloh and me.

"This is a dungeon you've explored before?" Jasper asked, gazing around at the surroundings. We were walking on a path far from the sea cliff, though I still glanced over at it in trepidation every now and then. The incident of Shiloh and me almost falling into the sea when a cliff had crumbled had made me even more cautious about heights.

"That's right," Shiloh answered. "We found a friend's lost item." Jasper was still glancing around intently, being quiet for once.

"Do you see something?" I asked curiously, and the Psyduck shook his head slowly.

"No...it's just that this place...kind of feels familiar. I don't know why."

"Did you used to live here?" Shiloh asked interestedly, but I shrugged and looked out across the sea cliff. It was a nice day, and it wasn't too hot or windy. Despite my increased dislike of high places, I had to admit that this area wasn't too bad. It was quiet when Pokémon weren't attacking, and the sky was a deep blue, despite one of my earlier rain predictions (I could apparently predict the weather thanks to my tail). "I don't think Psyduck live here, though."

"I've lived in the waterfall cave for as long as I can remember," Jasper told her, crossing his arms. "Maybe I just like it because it's close to water." He shook his head. "I hate feeling like I know a place but knowing I don't." I glanced at Jasper, his comment catching my attention.

"I've felt like that a lot...it's dejá vú," I said, a little surprised at hearing such a thing from Jasper. The Psyduck looked quickly at me and sniffed, shrugging.

"You have?" He frowned for a moment. "Seems like it's harder if you can't remember anything."

"What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled.

"I might remember something about why this place is familiar...but you can't." Jasper looked at me seriously.

"No, not really..." I responded at length. "So what?"

"Nothing." Jasper held up his paws. "All I meant was I'm glad I don't have amnesia." I smirked and crossed my arms.

"Lucky you," I told him, smiling menacingly. "If you want to find out what it's like, though, I can help."

"I'll pass," Jasper said with a toss of his head.

"You two are...I don't even know." Shiloh's eyebrows were raised and she seemed exasperated. "Listen, you two. We need to focus. The lost item could be anywhere here."

"What was the job again?" I asked, and Shiloh thought for a moment.

"A Treecko lost a Pecha scarf here, and we need to find it."

"A Treecko?" I asked, and Shiloh smiled slyly at me.

"Yeah, like you. Cool, huh?"

"No," I mumbled nervously.

"Don't be so freaked out!" Shiloh laughed, and I glared sideways at her, and growled when I saw Jasper was grinning.

"The only thing I'm freaked out about is that I won't be able to fake..." Shiloh made slashing motions in the air and shook her head quickly. Her eyes were wide and I stopped myself just in time. "...t-to...f-fake that...I can read footprint runes. I mean, you always have to read the job descriptions for me, Shiloh."

"You can't read them?" Jasper repeated. "Almost everyone can...except baby Pokémon."

"Well, I'm wildly illiterate, so I can't," I told him snappishly.

"Whoa there, calm down, Gale," Jasper said. "I was just asking."

"I'm going to go look over there," I said, and walked down the path to the right. "I think I saw something behind that rock." I checked around the rock once I got there, but didn't see a scarf. Instead I realized the thing I'd seen had been a Lileep. "Uh-oh," I muttered, and the Pokémon turned and froze. Then it gave a growl and advanced towards me, reaching out with pink tentacles. I knew Lileep could use Wrap, since Shiloh had been caught by a Lileep the first time we'd gone to the drenched bluff.

"I remember you!" It growled again, and on a spur of the moment, I tried to play dumb.

"What are you talking about?" I asked, managing to sound puzzled and surprised. "I've never met you."

"Yes, you have! I recognize you! You have that green scarf!" I fumbled at my neck, awkwardly realizing that I was wearing it. I also had a Pecha Scarf on, but it was tied around my right arm now because I'd discovered that layering two scarves in warm weather was uncomfortable. "You beat me up!" The Lileep shouted accusingly.

"Just once!" I exclaimed desperately. "And I bet I didn't do that much damage!"

"I don't care!" The Pokémon hollered. "Get out of here!" Lileep's tentacles extended and shot towards me. I dodged a couple of them but the rest wound around my waist and neck. I grabbed them and yanked hard, trying to stop them from getting tighter. Then I ground my teeth, thinking about using Absorb. The grass move would be a lot more effective than punching or kicking the Lileep, like I'd done my first time to the drenched bluff. I felt my paws getting warm and tingly, and the Lileep drew back. Suddenly I felt myself being tossed away. A second later I crashed into the ground and rolled over until I came to a painful skidding halt.

"Are you okay?" Shiloh yelled, and I stood unsteadily. Shiloh and Jasper were running towards me, and I stumbled a few steps towards them. I started to fall forward and Shiloh reached out and caught me, standing me back up again. "You have bad luck with Lileep, don't you?" She asked, and put something in my right paw. I curled my fingers around it and felt Shiloh sitting me down. Jasper rushed by and Shiloh took off after him. I looked at what she'd given me and saw a blue Oran berry. I raised my shaky arm to my mouth and took a bite of the berry, and felt some of my strength returning. I tossed the rest of the fruit into my mouth and though I still felt scuffed up I could stand without stumbling now. Turning quickly I saw that Shiloh and Jasper were using a water gun on the Lileep, who darted back swiftly, then whipped around and shot off faster than it seemed she should be able to. I still couldn't walk around on all fours, so I didn't know how Lileep managed to make having four legs look so easy. It was probably an advantage of being born a Pokémon, instead of turned into one.

"Nice one," I told Shiloh and Jasper as I approached. "Thanks for the Oran berry," I said gratefully. "I feel alright now." Shiloh glanced at me and winced.

"You look really scratched up," she noted, and I lifted my arms. The skin was torn and had dark bruises in some places. "But I'm glad you feel a little better, even if you look terrible." We grinned.

"I see...what you mean about...Pokémon showing up out of nowhere..." Jasper panted, sitting on the ground and wiping at his forehead. "That Lileep better not come back."

"That was one of the first Pokémon Shiloh and I fought here," I muttered. "Let's keep going." Jasper nodded, then took a deep breath and stood up.

"Fine with me," he sighed, taking his position between Shiloh and me again as we all set off. "How do you lose a scarf here?" The Psyduck grumbled sourly.

"Maybe the Treecko dropped it," Shiloh answered. "Or it fell off." A faint chiming noise sounded from somewhere, and I glanced around, trying to find its source.

"Guys, stop for a second," I whispered sharply, pointing to the path ahead. "Look." A small Chingling was bouncing around on the damp, rocky ground, and I could see that something pink was in their paws. Quickly, the three of us hid behind a large boulder. "That could be the scarf." Shiloh nodded discreetly.

"We should surround him," Jasper whispered.

"What about just asking him for it?" Shiloh asked quietly.

"Yeah...maybe he's friendly," I murmured. "Hopefully not the same Chingling we fought last time."

"Really?" Jasper snorted, giving me a look. "He's tiny. Even you could fight him off."

"They're tougher than they look," I told him with a shrug.

"He could be one of the Chingling we fought before," Shiloh stated, "and if he is, Gale's right. He won't be happy to see us."

"I'll go talk to him," Jasper offered, moving to step away from the rock. "He won't recognize me."

"You will? Thanks!" Shiloh told him, surprised. "If he attacks, we'll come help."

"He can't be that strong," Jasper scoffed, and waddled away to face the Chingling. I peeked around the left side of the rock and watched him as he got closer to the small Pokémon.

"Hear anything?" Shiloh asked from behind me, and I shook my head.

"No, but the Chingling isn't attacking. It looks like they're talking." Jasper was gesturing to the scarf, and the Chingling was hesitating. Jasper held up his arms and shook his head, then pointed to the scarf again. It seemed like the Chingling was staring at Jasper, and I strained to hear what they were saying, but they were too far away. Suddenly the Chingling handed Jasper the scarf, waved cheerily, then turned and hopped off. I stepped back as Jasper walked back behind the rock with us.

"Mission accomplished," he announced, handing the scarf to Shiloh, who slipped it into her satchel.

"Good job!" She told him enthusiastically. "That was great! And we didn't have to fight." Jasper crossed his arms and stared at the ground.

"What did he say to you?" I asked curiously.

"She, actually," Jasper corrected absently, still staring downward. "It was weird...she said she remembered me, but I don't remember her." The Psyduck shrugged and lifted his head. "I think she mixed me up with someone else."

"I wonder," Shiloh said, looking intrigued. "There aren't any Psyduck here."

"That's why she was probably mistaken," Jasper said in a dismissive tone, though he looked a little uncertain. "Doesn't matter. Let's get back to Treasure Town." On the way back, we met a couple Chingling, and after we'd chased them all of I could tell Jasper didn't think they were so weak anymore.

"Still think Chingling are no big deal?" I asked jokingly once we'd returned to Treasure Town.

"Shut up," Jasper growled, glaring at me. He stalked off towards town, stomping as he went. I turned to Shiloh and noticed she had her paws on her hips and was giving me a look of disapproval.

"Stop winding him up," she scolded. "Go tell him sorry."

"What?" I exclaimed in disbelief.

"We have to go into Treasure Town too, anyway," Shiloh said with a sharp glance at me. "Come on." I walked beside Shiloh, grinding my teeth, and when we spotted Jasper I ran up to him, wanting to get this over with.

"Hey, Jasper," I called to him, and he turned. "I was just joking earlier. Chingling are hard to deal with."

"Oh," Jasper said, not looking angry in the least. "Thanks, I guess." He gestured to someone standing behind him, and I noticed it was a Treecko. Instead of being bright green and having a bright red stomach, this one was a paler green and the red was more a dim pink color. Shiloh had told me a while back that male Treecko had brighter colors, so that must mean this one was female. She had a small white pouch tied around her waist.

"Hey, are you the one who lost a Pecha scarf?" Shiloh rushed past me and pulled the scarf from her satchel. The Treecko's already bright yellow eyes lit up in recognition and she took the scarf with an excited cry.

"Yes! This is mine! I thought I wouldn't find it again." She beamed happily at Shiloh. "Thank you!" She opened her white pouch and pulled a bright yellow length of shiny fabric out before offering it to the Squirtle.

"Wow! It's a gold ribbon!" Shiloh reached out, hesitated a bit, then took the scarf. "You're really giving this to us?" The Treecko seemed confused.

"Is that alright?" She asked anxiously, looking suddenly timid. "Where I live, there are lots of Poison-types, and that's bad for me. So my scarf is really important." She smiled shyly and nodded. "You should take that. It's the least I can do to say thanks."

"We're glad we could help," Shiloh said. "You met Jasper earlier, but you haven't met Gale yet." I waved a bit at the female Treecko and she smiled politely at me.

"My name is Amber," she said, and I nodded.

"Nice to meet you," I told her, hoping there wasn't some weird way Treecko greeted each other. When she nodded approvingly though, I relaxed and sighed.

"Well, thanks again for finding my scarf. I have to get going now."

"Bye!" Shiloh called as Amber strode off towards Treasure Town's entrance. Instead of walking on two legs, like I did, she had dropped to all fours. No one besides Shiloh had said anything when I first joined the Guild, but I must have looked weird. I wonder if she'd told the Guild members what I'd said about my parents walking on two legs instead of four.

"What does this scarf do?" I asked, stepping closer to get a better look at the item. It was glittering a little in the sunlight.

"It doesn't have any special effects, but it's worth a lot," Shiloh explained, looking eagerly at the ribbon. "We should sell it, then split the money up." She skipped off towards town and I followed her quickly, and jumped when Jasper came up on my right and leaned on me, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Get off!" I grunted. "You're heavy." Jasper chuckled and leaned away, and I glowered at him.

"If you're worried about impressing her, then just learn to read."

"I'm not worried about that!" I snapped loudly.

"If you're going to argue, don't do it in public, at least," Shiloh groaned from ahead of us, and I walked up to the counter of the Kecleon Brothers' shop. Shiloh offered the ribbon to them. "I want to sell this," she announced, and Leon glanced at the ribbon.

"A gold ribbon! Alright, just hand it to me, please." Shiloh passed the ribbon off and waited while Leon got the money for it. When he turned back around and set a blue bag of coins on the table my eyes widened.

"That's a lot," I remarked.

"Two thousand Poké," Leon stated, and Shiloh slid the bag off the table and held it in both arms. "Thank you for your business."

"No problem," Shiloh grunted, struggling with the heavy bag. I reached for the bag and lifted it up, trying to help her carry it.

"This is really heavy," I said, feeling my arms start to shake a little. "Let's take it to Duskull."

"Good idea," Shiloh agreed, then started walking towards the bank. "I think I know how to split it. We give Jasper five hundred Poké, keep five hundred each for ourselves, and put five hundred in the bank."

"Five hundred?" Jasper exclaimed from behind us. "Really?"

"Yep," Shiloh answered as we got to the bank. "You got the scarf back, after all." Shiloh greeted Duskull, then explained to him what she wanted to do. "Thanks, Duskull!" The Ghost Pokémon bowed his head.

"You're very welcome," he replied in a monotone, and I shivered a little as his red eyes met mine. I just nodded at him though, then turned to Shiloh, who was handing a blue bag of coins to Jasper.

"There you go," she said. "Your first exploration reward."

"Nice," Jasper said eagerly, taking the money bag.

"I'll bring you your new bag when it gets here," Shiloh explained with a smile "Chatot said it shouldn't be too long."

"Cool, thanks." Jasper glanced at the sky, then back down at Shiloh. "I don't think it's even the afternoon yet. Should we do some more missions?"

"Sure!" Shiloh agreed eagerly. "I have a few more missions in me. Let's go look at the bulletin board."

* * *

Jasper yawned loudly as he trudged into the dining room, and I held my stomach as it growled loudly. Shiloh went eagerly to her usual spot at the table and sat down. I sat next to her in my spot as well, and saw Jasper looking for somewhere to sit. I stood, then motioned to him, and he came over. "Sit here if you want. I'm going to help bring the food." Jasper looked momentarily surprised.

"Alright," he said, and took a seat, and I hurried out of the room to meet Rin and help him carry the food. I heard footsteps behind me and saw Ran walking out of the dining room.

"Hey, need some help?" He asked, and I nodded.

"Sure! Thanks."

"No problem, glad to..." Suddenly Ran sniffed and coughed. "Ugh, not again..."

"What?" I asked, but now smelled it too and wrinkled my nose. Ran gestured to something behind me and I turned, then leapt back into Ran with a startled yelp, and immediately covered my mouth with both paws.

"Now, that's not very polite, is it?" Skuntank chortled loudly. His friends, Radar and Koffing, were hovering behind him as usual. "We're just here to have dinner with the rest of you. That Pokémon...Chatot, was it? He's letting us stay at the Guild and he's also letting us come along on the expedition in a few days."

"WHAT?" Ran shouted furiously. "You've already been picked?!"

"That's right!" Skuntank replied smoothly with a leer. "Isn't it great that your Guildmaster asked us to come along?"

"Are you JOKING?!" Ran yowled, advancing towards Skuntank, waving his fists. I tried to push him back.

"We can't fight inside the Guild," I told him urgently. "Just ignore him." The Loudred looked down at me in disbelief.

"Ignore him?" I nodded quickly and kept trying to push Ran back, but he pushed me aside with a sweep of his arm. He was a few feet taller than me and much stronger, but I jumped back and tried to stop him again.

"They're always causing trouble," I told him, and he glowered at me. "Fighting them won't stop that. They got on the expedition team without trying, but that means they won't be ready for it. You should keep trying and you'll get on the team with no problem." Ran stopped moving and nodded, lowering his fists. I sighed and stepped out of the way, facing Skuntank and his friends with a glare. "I don't know why the Guildmaster invited you guys here, but we'll put up with whatever you do."

"Like I said," Skuntank drawled, "we're just here to help on the expedition." Radar flapped his wings and shot forward, pushing past me, and Koffing floated by with a smirk on his face. I turned and saw them heading for the dining room. Ran growled and I glared back at Skuntank, who grinned and flicked his tail at little. I stepped back, remembering the attack he'd used before, and heard Skuntank chuckle. "If you'll excuse me, I'm hungry. Watch your food at dinner...weakling."

"Weakling?" I repeated, then clenched my paws and shook my head angrily.

"You still want to ignore him?" Ran muttered to me.

"For now," I growled under my breath. "Let's go get the food." Ran nodded and we went into a room that was next to Phyllo's Swap Shop and found him putting poffins, Gummis and berries on large stone plates. Ran took two in his large paws and I grabbed one. "Thanks, Rin," I told the Pokémon, and he smiled happily at the two of us.

"You're welcome! I hope you all enjoy it."

"I'll get the last plate," I told him, and Rin nodded, then floated after me towards the dining room. "Hey, Rin...Skuntank and his buddies are back." The Chimecho's smile evaporated and he trembled a little, making the bell on his body chime slightly.

"They...are?" He asked in a hushed voice. "Why?"

"Wigglytuff invited them to go on the expedition," Ran explained sourly, crossing his arms and tapping a foot.

"But...but...that's awful!" Rin frowned angrily. "They didn't even have to work to get picked." I sighed and nodded.

"I know," I agreed. "If we're lucky, they won't try anything."

"I hope not," Rin mumbled unhappily. Ran had put his two plates of food in the middle of the table, so I dropped the plate off at the end of the table that was near the door, chatted quickly with Yabi, Duthie and Simeon, then ran back out to get the last platter. After I ran back with it, I stiffened when I saw that Skuntank, Radar and Koffing were sitting at the end of the table where I usually sat, and they didn't have any food yet. Swallowing heavily, I grit my teeth and headed over, putting the stone plate down silently.

"Why, thank you," Radar chittered in an overly nice tone, and I scowled.

"You're welcome," I told him, but quietly I muttered, "Choke on it," then tried to find a place to sit, though the empty spots at the table had been taken by the unwelcome Pokémon. Shiloh beckoned to me and I walked over to her, then sat against the wall since there wasn't room to squeeze between her and Jasper comfortably. "Thanks," I told her with a grateful smile. She nodded at me and smiled faintly, looking apologetic. "It's okay. I'm fine sitting here." Jasper glanced at me, then quickly away again. Chatot suddenly hopped into the room, followed closely by Wigglytuff, and spread his wings to get everyone's attention.

"Before you all start eating, I have an announcement to make." Sharp cries of protest sounded through the room.

"Hey, hey, what's the holdup? Yabi shouted, waving his claws.

"I'm HUNGRY!" Ran hollered, causing me to hold my paws to my head.

"Eek! Not so loud! We're all hungry, Ran." Lysa patted the Loudred's shoulders and smiled wistfully at him.

"Please, please! It won't take long!" Chatot sighed dejectedly. As the noise gradually died down, the bird Pokémon cleared his throat. "As you all may have noticed, we have some visitors."

"How could we not notice," Jasper muttered in an undertone, rolling his eyes. Lysa snuck a timid glance towards the three new Pokémon and quickly looked away when Koffing grinned at her.

"Our guests are here to help us on the expedition." Ran and I glanced knowingly at each other, waiting for the outburst. "So I ask that you give them your full cooperation."

"They're coming on the expedition?" Yabi asked, eyes wide and tone surprised and more than a little annoyed. "They aren't going through the selection process?"

"Well, they've offered us their assistance as our allies, and so haven't joined as new apprentices. The Guildmaster believes that we'll be stronger on the expedition, and more able to discover something if they help." I felt like slamming my paws on the table and yelling "Are you kidding me?!" but managed to keep quiet. Apparently bad things happened if Wigglytuff got angry, and there was the matter of what Chatot would do if I lost my temper. He didn't like it when I calmly talked back to him, so yelling at him wouldn't be a good idea.

"Are you serious?" Shiloh spoke up, and Chatot looked confused.

"Pardon me?" The bird Pokémon asked, and had just started to look angry when Skuntank chuckled.

"Don't mind her. She overreacts to everything." Shiloh glanced sharply at him.

"You can just take your tail and—" She hissed, but was cut off by Chatot.

"Is that so? Alright then. That is my only announcement. Enjoy your dinner!"

"Not as likely today," Ran grumbled as he took a couple poffins and a huge apple from one of the platters. Shiloh, Jasper, Callo, Radar, Zubat and Skuntank started filling up their plates, and I walked around the table so I could get food too. I saw a new kind of poffin, one that had red berries instead of blue, and reached for it. Without warning I felt a sharp elbow to my ribs and was pushed back.

"Hey!" I yelled at Skuntank, and he turned and smiled.

"What did you do that for?" Shiloh demanded, standing up. I saw Wigglytuff glance over briefly and gulped.

"I'm sorry," Skuntank said to me, "I didn't see you." He picked up the poffin I'd been reaching for in his mouth and offered it. "Would you like this?" He asked, his words muffled, and I grimaced and shook my head.

"Uh...no. You take it." With a shrug the Pokémon bit into the poffin and chewed it noisily as he turned back to the table. Growling quietly to myself, I moved to another platter and squeezed between Yabi and Duthie, who moved aside so I could grab an apple, another poffin with red berries and a grass Gummi.

"We saw him," Duthie said quietly. "He pushed you."

"Yeah," Yabi put in sourly. "Those three are bad news."

"Thanks, you guys," I told them gratefully, then returned to my spot near the wall. I took a bite of the Gummi and noticed that everyone was eating even faster than usual, and that while normally there was some conversation, today there wasn't any at all. When everyone finished eating, they rushed out of the room and headed instantly to their rooms.

"Night, Rin," I called after the Chimecho once the plates had been cleaned up. "See you tomorrow." He turned and waved briefly, then disappeared into the room he shared with Lysa.

"Hey, there...what was your name? Shiloh?" I whirled and saw Skuntank approaching Shiloh and Jasper. Angrily I ran over and came to a stop behind Skuntank.

"That's my name. What about it?" Shiloh demanded. "If you bother us, you're asking for it."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Skuntank said with a peculiar grin. "I just wanted to wish you luck at being picked for the expedition."

"I bet," I told him sharply.

"Well, goodnight," Skuntank said, then turned to Radar and Koffing. "Let's get going. We'll come back here tomorrow." The two nodded and Koffing floated off while Radar showed his teeth in a grin.

"It's you three who're asking for it," he hissed. "Our Chief is really strong. No Pokémon has a chance of beating him, least of all you." He glanced at me and chuckled. "You're weak to poison, so I wouldn't try."

"Come on, Radar!" Koffing yelled from the stairs, and Zubat shot off.

"Hang on, Kumi! Jeez!" Shiloh groaned.

"I just want to go to bed." She still had an apple in her paw, and I hadn't finished my poffin. If I got hungry during the night I could eat it, but I held it out to Jasper. I didn't exactly like him, but I didn't want him to be hungry. I doubted he had a lot of Poké.

"Do you want to take this?" I asked him. "You'll be able to buy more things once we do more jobs, but this is just to start you out." He glanced at me and slowly took the poffin from my outstretched paw.

"Sure...thanks." Shiloh offered her apple too and Jasper took it as well. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow sometime." He turned without another word and headed up the ladder.

"Let's get to bed before our guests show up," Shiloh muttered, and quickly we headed to our rooms. There was no one in the halls and I guessed they were hiding too.

"Night," I yawned, leaning back on my straw bed and stretching my arms.

"Goodnight," Shiloh replied, and I rolled over and closed my eyes.

"I don't know what Skuntank is going to do," I murmured sleepily, "but I doubt it's anything good.

"We'll keep a close eye on all three of those jerks," I heard Shiloh growl. "And we're definitely going on the expedition."

"Yeah," I agreed. "We'll do it."

* * *

**And I think you all probably know what's going to happen to the team tomorrow...darn that Team Skull and darn Chatot too. I really did have a hard time being sympathetic to that guy.**

**Thanks for reading! Hope you liked the chapter!**

**Zubat – Radar**

**Koffing – Kumi**

**If you need me to put more name reminders here, or anything else, let me know. Oh and by all means, if I make any errors with math (Team Seeker funds, for example) let me know. I'm the secretary of finance in my club, SAGA (Sexuality and Gender Alliance), at the moment, but I'm not good at math. Funny how things work. I've done alright so far though. I haven't bankrupted the club by accident or anything. XD**


	14. Apple Woods

**Finally, we get to apple woods! I was hoping at the end the characters would at least get to fight Skuntank and his flunkies, but not this time. And by the end of the game I felt bad for them. I wonder if it's normal to feel bad for the bad guys and really dislike one of the good guys...*cough*Chatot*cough*  
Actually, I know the answer to that. Cheria from Tales of Graces is a good person, but I found her really annoying after a while, even though I like Laura Bailey (she's Cheria's voice actor).**

**Apple Woods**

* * *

"What? You want us to get some food?" Shiloh asked.

"Our food stocks are strangely low," Chatot said with a worried expression. "I don't know how, since I was sure we had enough for several months."

"That is strange," I commented, frowning worriedly.

"I don't think I ate too much last night," Shiloh murmured, looking a bit guilty. I shook my head.

"I don't think you've ever eaten too much," I told her. "Definitely not enough to make us almost be out of food."

"Well, the important thing is that you go to apple woods and get some food," Chatot instructed firmly. "Jasper should go along and help you. You might need to make a couple trips."

"Let's go get him, then," Shiloh said, and was just turning to leave when Chatot stopped her.

"I have something for you. Wait here a moment." Chatot hopped into Wigglytuff's room and returned a minute later with a brown satchel over his neck. "This is for Jasper. It has a badge and a handkerchief inside." Shiloh took the satchel and slipped it over her head.

"Great! Thanks! See you later, Chatot!" Shiloh eagerly took off and I ran after her. "Jasper was a little late this morning, but maybe he just slept in. I'll wake him up with water gun."

"You sure that's a good idea?" I asked, and Shiloh snorted.

"That's how I used to wake my brother up. It worked fine and he never stayed mad at me for long."

"Alright..." I said with a nervous laugh, "if you say so." Jasper's front door was shut when we got to his house and I stepped forward and knocked twice. When there was no response I knocked again, waited a minute, then looked at Shiloh.

"That's funny. Let's go in." She walked up and turned the doorknob, pushed the door open, and stepped inside. It was a fairly big house, but only looked big enough for one Pokémon. There was a bed of straw in the back, a table to the right of the door and a rock pool with water bubbling up from the ground. There was one window in the back wall, lighting up the house a bit. A small basket of apples sat on the table, and the poffin I'd given Jasper last night was stacked on top. "Why isn't he here?" Shiloh wondered, sounding puzzled.

"I don't know...maybe he just went out for a while." Shiloh put the satchel down on Jasper's table and turned to me with a shrug. A thought suddenly hit me. "We could check the beach."

"Good idea!" Shiloh said, and together we ran to the shoreline, but it was deserted. The Krabby that usually blew bubbles weren't there; Shiloh said they normally came out in the evening. There was a bottle washed up on the beach, though, and I walked over and picked it up. A small pink berry was inside. I tugged on the cork stopping the bottle, then shook it a few times, and the berry fell into the sand. "Whoops," Shiloh said. "Just brush the sand off. It looks like it's safe, so you should keep it. There are probably poison-types in the apple woods." I put it into my satchel with a nod.

"I wonder who puts these in the ocean," I wondered curiously.

"Me too," Shiloh remarked, crossing her arms with a thoughtful expression. "Maybe we'll find them someday." She smiled. "Anyway, though, maybe someone in Treasure Town has seen Jasper. Let's go back." We enjoyed the short stroll across the beach, then ran up the stairs and into town, and asked the Kecleon Brothers if they'd seen Jasper.

"I'm sorry," Leon said. "We haven't seen him."

"We'll keep a look out," Ezra added. "But we're sorry that we couldn't be of more help."

"That's alright," I said. "We'll keep trying."

"Let us know if you see him," Shiloh called as we headed for the bank. We described Jasper to him, but the ghost Pokémon hadn't seen him anywhere either. Asking Auntie Kanghaskan and Electivire yielded the same results, and we headed back towards the Kecleon Market, feeling a little frustrated.

"We still haven't seen him," Ezra said apologetically, and Shiloh turned to me.

"You wait here," she instructed, "and I'll check inside the Guild. If he's not there, then we should probably just go." I nodded and took a seat beside the Kecleon Brothers' shop, and only had to wait for a few minutes before Shiloh came running back. She held up her arms and sighed

"I wonder where he is," Leon wondered, and I stood up and turned.

"I don't know," I told him. "I bet he's fine, though."

"It would have been good to take him along," Shiloh said, looking a little disappointed, "but the two of us can do it. Let's get going."

"Thanks," I called as we walked off. "See you later!" I was just about to step outside of town when I coughed and smelled something that made me feel a little nauseated. It reminded me of Skuntank, and I almost turned to see if he was there, but quickened my pace, deciding to just get out of town. I didn't want to have a run-in with them right before an important mission. I didn't know what they had against us, but I was sure they should be avoided.

* * *

"Watch out!" Shiloh yelled to me as the Beedrill we'd been fighting shot past her and flew towards me, the stingers on its forelegs aimed in my direction. I tensed my legs, then sprang aside as it flew by, but I felt a slashing pain in my right hip and landed awkwardly, my leg buckling. I staggered up and turned around, trying to dart away, but the Beedrill had already circled back around and was coming for me again. Shiloh rushed up and sprayed a water gun towards it, and she got a direct hit. The Beedrill tumbled from the sky and I reached into my pack, then hurled a rock with all my might and watched it hit the Beedril in the chest. The Pokémon wobbled for a moment and tried to flap its wings, but suddenly crumpled to the ground. Shiloh picked up the rock and brought it to me, and I returned it to my satchel. "Can you stand up?" She asked, and I winced, trying to put weight on my right leg.

"I have an Oran berry," I panted. "It should help." Fumbling in my satchel, I located a berry and withdrew it, then broke it in half and offered one half to Shiloh. "I only have one Oran berry left...and there's no telling how deep the woods go." So far, we'd found a dozen berries each and had almost filled our satchels to bursting point, but we were keeping them for the Guild. Shiloh munched the berry half, and I ate mine slowly, then tried again to stand and found I could put weight on my hurt leg. "I'm fine. Let's go."

"Alright," Shiloh agreed breathlessly. "I hope we're almost there. I don't know how much more fighting I can take." I nodded, wincing a little as my hip twinged in pain.

"Same here." We'd fought four Beedrill, a couple Combee, a handful of Hoppip and a bunch of Weedle. Shiloh had been doing a lot of the fighting, though, since I was weak against bug- and poison-types. Beedrill were the worst, since they were dual bug- and poison-types. I'd taken one Beedril out by using absorb and throwing rocks, but it had been rough. Even though Shiloh and me had been wearing Pecha scarves almost nonstop, we'd still managed to get poisoned. Sharing the Pecha berry I'd discovered in the bottle had fixed that, but the poison had left us a little weak. The trees were getting a little thicker now, I noticed, and I wondered if that meant we were getting closer to the heart of the forest. Upon rounding a corner, we followed a grassy pathway and found ourselves in a clearing with a large tree at the far end. The trunk was thick and too wide for even a bunch of Pokémon to put their arms around. The branches stretched far to the sky and across the clearing, blocking the sun a bit.

"There!" Shiloh exclaimed in relief and approached the tree at a run. "I bet those are perfect apples!"

"Yeah!" I panted, running just behind her. "We could probably each take two." A rustling sound made me stop and glance up. There weren't a lot of apples in the tree anyway, but Wigglytuff would probably be happy with even one. Then I looked closer and saw something funny among the branches.

"Is that..." Shiloh gasped, craning her neck as well to look up at the tree. "...Skuntank?"

"Chaw haw haw! Well, hello down there!" I jolted in alarm, then reached for Shiloh and dragged her back as three shapes dropped from the tree. Skuntank thudded heavily to the ground while Kumi and Radar hovered in the air. "Nice day for a walk in the woods, isn't it?" I glanced at Shiloh and saw that although she was glaring furiously at the poison-type trio, her chest was heaving with exertion and she was wobbling a little. My hip was stinging and I also felt like I could fall asleep at any moment.

"Depends on what you mean by nice," I retorted. "What are you doing here?"

"We wanted to help you get some perfect apples." Shiloh and I watched as Skuntank walked around to the side of the tree, stepped back a fair distance, then suddenly rushed forward and rammed into the tree. The branches shook a bit but nothing happened. Skuntank rammed the tree again and this time six apples dropped from the branches above and onto the grass.

"So you left some," I muttered, and took a step forward, but stopped suddenly as I caught the look in Skuntank's eyes. He seemed to be a little smug and I didn't like the smirk on his face.

"You need these, don't you? Go ahead and take them." I stared at Shiloh and she shook her head. To get the apples, we'd have to walk past Skuntank, and he could attack us easily, especially since the native Pokémon had already beaten us up. "What's the matter? Don't you want them?" Radar and Kumi chuckled lightly, and that settled it.

"You haven't been nice to us once. You'll attack when we get close." Shiloh shook a fist at Skuntank. "Don't act all friendly!"

"Well, well!" Skuntank exclaimed, stepping back with a surprised look that quickly switched to menacing. "You're smarter than we thought."

"Get out of the way!" I yelled in anger, and saw Radar and Kumi flinch slightly, something that caused me a little feeling of satisfaction. Maybe we could get past them. "Move it! We need those!"

"We'll fight you for them." Shiloh gave a deep growl, baring her teeth, but Skuntank just chuckled. The Zubat and Koffing chuckled with him, seemingly bolstered by their leader's response. Skuntank advanced forward, and flicked his tail. Kumi floated down and stopped beside him, hovering in the air a few feet from the ground.

"That would be entertaining, I'm sure, but it'd also be a waste of time." Skuntank lifted his head and chortled. I took a shaky step forward and was about to reach out and grab Skuntank to try and use absorb, but he lunged forward, headbutting me and sending my sprawling on my back.

"Gale! You alright?" I heard Shiloh exclaimed right before a hissing noise and then a suffocating gas filled the air, making me gag. My vision started swimming, and I heard Shiloh coughing and gasping beside me. I thrust a paw into my satchel, trying to grab one of the berries I'd collected, praying it would be a Pecha or Oran berry. I attempted to roll over and help Shiloh but couldn't gather up the strength. Skuntank's laughing filled my head as I passed out.

* * *

"_Gale...Gale...where did you go?" _A loud, sharp noise almost drowned out the frantic woman's voice; it sounded like a slap._ "Don't scare us like that! Where did you and Treecko go?"_

"_Mom...we were just exploring..." _A trembling voice answered. _"Treecko wanted to take me on an adventure."_

"_Don't ever do that again, Gale!"_

"_Gale...Gale! Gale...?"_

I sat up quickly, looking around in alarm, trying to find the source of the voice I'd heard. "Shiloh?" I croaked, and gave a long sigh. "Were you calling me?" Shiloh nodded, looking relieved.

"Eat this," she said, holding an Oran berry towards me. I reached up to take it but saw that I was holding a thin object in my paws. Turning it over, I jolted a little when I saw it was the picture of the human family and Treecko. I quickly shoved it into my satchel, then took the berry. I was trying to break the Oran berry in half when Shiloh held up another one. "I have one. It's okay." She tossed the berry in her mouth and I did the same, and felt a little better, but doubted I'd be able to stand up for a while.

"What happened?" I asked, glancing around the clearing. "Where are Skuntank and the others?" A pained grimace came over Shiloh's face.

"They're gone...and so are the perfect apples." She hung her head and shook it slowly. "I looked, but there isn't even one left."

"Those morons," I hissed.

"Well, they outsmarted us," Shiloh murmured dejectedly. "We're going to have to tell Chatot there aren't any perfect apples left." I shook my head angrily, then stopped when my forehead hurt.

"Think he'll believe us," I snapped angrily, "when we tell him our allies attacked us?"

"I don't know," Shiloh answered quietly. "But we can't do anything about it now." I sighed, rubbing my forehead, then felt guilty for my sudden outburst.

"You're right...sorry I got so angry." Shiloh rose unsteadily to her feet.

"Oh, I'm angry too, trust me." Her face darkened suddenly; then she sighed and looked tiredly at the sky. "But we shouldn't waste our energy." I tried to push myself to my feet but couldn't even stumble a few paces. Shiloh walked over, took my arms, and helped me limp over to a tree. She leaned me against it, then flopped down and closed her eyes.

_I think I dreamed something, _I thought, suddenly remembering. _I touched that picture. It might have been a vision. It wasn't just Shiloh calling my name...someone else was...and I was there, too...it sounded like I was a kid._

Shiloh suddenly leaned against my right shoulder, and I jumped a little, but didn't try to move her. I heard her light breathing and knew she'd fallen asleep. As much as I wanted to fall asleep, I knew I should keep my eyes open for any enemies. The clearing had been calm so far, but that didn't mean Pokémon weren't hiding in the trees, ready to attack if they saw any outsiders.

I didn't know how much time had passed since Shiloh had fallen asleep, but the sun filtering through the trees suddenly changed color. Instead of being bright yellow, it was now a dim orange. Did that mean it was getting on towards sunset? It wouldn't be safe to travel through the apple woods at night...not that it was any safer in the daytime. I reached over and carefully shook Shiloh's arm. "Shiloh," I said quietly, "wake up." I shook her gently again, and she finally opened her eyes halfway. "Sorry, but I think it's almost sunset. We should go." Shiloh closed her eyes, yawned loudly, then stood up and looked wearily at me.

"Can you stand?" She asked, stifling a yawn, and I nodded.

"I think so." Pushing against the tree, I put weight on my feet and managed to stand up without falling. My hip still hurt from the Beedrill's stinger, but it wasn't too bad. Shiloh headed towards the path out of the woods, and swayed a little. I caught up to her and put her right arm over my shoulders. "Lean on me if you need to."

"Thanks," Shiloh said gratefully, and I smiled faintly.

"You helped me earlier, so this is the least I can do." We walked in silence for a long time, not wanting to alert any Pokémon to our presence, and tried our best to remember the turns we'd made on the way here. It took a couple tries, but I finally started to recognize the thinning trees we'd seen on the way into the apple woods. Fortunately we'd made it through the woods without being attacked, though there had been a few close calls with Beedrill, but Shiloh and I had hid behind trees and bushes until they'd left. The path back to Treasure Town was normally a picnic, but because of the state we were in, it seemed like it'd take forever. Once we'd reached the area around the hot springs, we took a break.

"We could go rest up there," Shiloh murmured, looking wistfully in the springs' direction. "But it is almost dark."

"Yeah..." I agreed with a sigh. "But we can rest here for a bit."

"Why does Skuntank bother us?" Shiloh wondered aloud. "He's never met us."

"I don't know," I answered, "but he should watch it."

"I think I can walk now," Shiloh said, rising unsteadily to her feet. I approached her, offering my paws, but she waved me off. "It's okay. I've gotten a little strength back."

"That's good," I said, but stayed close to her in case she stumbled. The sky around us seemed to become darker with every second, and the stars were just starting to come out by the time we trudged back into Treasure Town.

"Shiloh! Gale!" A voice yelled from somewhere nearby, and I glanced around in surprise.

"Jasper?" I exclaimed, and watched the yellow Pokémon approach us and stand breathlessly as he stared.

"Where have you two been? I've been looking! Chatot said you'd gone to the apple woods."

"We did," Shiloh said. "We went to get more food." Jasper grimaced and gestured to the Guild frantically.

"You'd better get up there now! Chatot's in a really bad mood." Shiloh and I exchanged looks of trepidation before running up the stairs as fast as our tired bodies allowed.

"Where did you go?" Shiloh panted as we ran. "We couldn't find you this morning."

"Well, I was..." Jasper began awkwardly, looking away. "I was at the drenched bluff."

"Why?" Shiloh asked in confusion. "Did you do a mission there?" We stopped at the grate and called for Duthie to let us in. Jasper looked over, shuffling his webbed feet guiltily.

"No...I was...well, remember that Chingling I talked to the other day? I went there to talk to her."

"What'd you want to talk to her about?" Shiloh asked, sounding bewildered.

"I asked her what she remembered about me. She didn't tell me much. Apparently I lived at drenched bluff at one point, but I don't remember that at all."

"Come in, you guys, and hurry!" Ran's voice shouted up to us and we rushed inside and down the ladders as fast as we could, then headed to Wigglytuff's room. Chatot was hopping back and forth in front of the door, muttering to himself. Rin was waiting with him, looking uncomfortable.

"Chatot!" Shiloh called, and the bird Pokémon looked up, his beak dropping open.

"Where have you been?" He demanded incredulously. "You've been gone ages!"

"We noticed," I told him, then held out my satchel and saw Shiloh do the same. "We found lots of berries."

"Good, good...and what about the perfect apples?" Rin took my satchel, then reached for Shiloh's, but Jasper stepped up and took it.

"I'll help," he said, and Rin smiled gratefully and headed towards the dining room with the Psyduck.

"We don't have any," Shiloh explained reluctantly with a quick glance at me. "We did find them though, but we were..."

"You don't have any?" Chatot interupted blankly, his voice hoarse. "None at all?"

"Zero," I answered with a subdued sigh.

"Are you sure...you don't have...any?"

"We're sure, for Arceus' sake," Shiloh shouted. Chatot squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head furiously. Then he started to flap his wings and fly in circles.

"This is horrible...what am I going to do?" He fretted loudly. "What am I going to tell the Guildmaster?"

"That he has to wait a while longer," I spoke up in annoyance. "Like Shiloh said, something happened. We met Skuntank and his friends in the apple woods, and..."

"Chaw-haw-haw!" I felt a sharp shove in my right side and gasped loudly, clapping both paws to the spot. "It's about time you got back! Everyone was worried."

"Oh! Hello!" Chatot said, looking flustered. "We're in the middle of a crisis here, I'm afraid. These two failed to bring back any perfect apples for the Guildmaster!"

"Well, that's unfortunate," Skuntank chuckled, and I clenched my jaw, and heard Shiloh growl softly from beside me. Skuntank had a perfect apple between his front paws, while Radar and Kumi were both carrying an apple; Radar had one in his jaws and Kumi was balancing one on his head. "It just so happens that we found a couple today while we were exploring." Chatot's face brightened and he looked at Skuntank with immense relief.

"You did?"

"Yep!" Radar chimed in, putting the apple down. "You can give them to the Guildmaster."

"Wonderful!" Chatot exclaimed brightly, gesturing to Wigglytuff's room. "Please, come inside." The three Pokémon took their apples to Wigglytuff's room and Chatot glowered back at Shiloh and me after they'd gone inside. "You two wait here," he instructed angrily. "I'll talk to you shortly." He hopped inside and slammed the door behind him. I turned when I heard a ringing noise, then saw that Jasper and Rin had come back from the dining room. They were holding the empty satchels.

"What happened?" Jasper asked in a hushed voice. "Is Chatot...mad at you?"

"Yeah...we're in trouble," Shiloh answered dejectedly, slumping her shoulders. "Skuntank attacked us in the apple woods, and took all the perfect apples we were supposed to get for Wigglytuff." Rin gasped sharply. He floated down and handed me my satchel, while Jasper returned Shiloh's. I looped the satchel over my head and sat down. "We can't tell that to Chatot while they're here. They'd deny it..."

"They attacked you?" Jasper asked, looking angry. "That's actually easy to believe, because no offense, you really smell like it."

"Lots of Pokémon attacked us," I groaned. Rin suddenly took off without a word. "It was crazy."

"I'll help explain to Chatot once Skuntank leaves," Jasper said firmly. "They can't get away with that."

"Thanks, but I don't know if it'll go that well," Shiloh murmured. Wigglytuff's door opened and we all jumped, then glanced towards it as Skuntank, Radar, Kumi and Chatot filtered out. Chatot seemed to be in a better mood, and he was even laughing along with Skuntank.

"I don't know how to thank you!" The bird Pokémon was exclaiming. "You've saved us!"

"Oh, it was nothing," Skuntank returned modestly. "Your Guild has been so kind to us."

"It'll be an honor to have you on the expedition," Chatot said, bowing his head, and waved when the three poison-types departed into the dining room. Jasper stepped forward when Chatot hopped towards us. I heard a chiming noise behind me and turned to see Rin with two Oran berries in his small paws.

"Here you go," he said cheerily. "It's almost dinnertime, but these will make you feel better. And I..."

"Stop, Rin!" Chatot shouted harshly, and Rin about fell out of the air and looked at Chatot in shock.

"Wh-why not?" Rin stuttered.

"They failed in their mission," Chatot stated firmly, "and the effects were almost disastrous! Gale and Shiloh will go without dinner tonight."

"What?!" I burst out in disbelief. "You can't do that! We need to eat something!"

"Well, you had an important task, and you didn't complete it!" Chatot snapped. "Do you know what would have happened if the Guildmaster had to be told that he couldn't have any perfect apples?"

"He could eat something else, just like the rest of us!" Jasper yelled over Chatot, advancing on the bird type. "Listen, Chatot! Skuntank attacked Gale and Shiloh in the woods, then took all the perfect apples. That's why they didn't bring any back." Chatot leapt back, looking astonished, but then he shook his head and approached Jasper furiously.

"You expect me to believe that when they were so kind as to bring some perfect apples back? It wasn't even their job!" Chatot glared darkly. "I mean it. Gale and Shiloh will go without dinner tonight."

"Chatot, please!" Rin pleaded, suddenly darting up to the bird Pokémon "It could happen to anyone. The apple woods are rough!"

"Stop it, Rin," Chatot told him sharply. "My decision is final."

"Did Wigglytuff say they should be punished?" Jasper demanded. Chatot flapped his wings rapidly, and a couple feathers floated around.

"That's enough! Just go to bed, you two!" Chatot whirled abruptly and disappeared into Wigglytuff's room, and Jasper moved to follow him, but the door was slammed right in his face.

"Ouch!" Jasper yelped, holding his beak tightly, his face drawn with pain. "That little..." he hissed, stalking back to us. "It doesn't matter. I have an idea. I'll get you food." He headed for the ladder, but at that moment Wigglytuff's door opened and Chatot hopped out.

"Where do you think you're going?" He demanded sharply, and Jasper glared at him.

"I'm going to my house."

"Very well, but if you leave, you can't come back tonight." The Psyduck glowered at him. "The Guild's going to close for the evening soon."

"It's okay, Jasper," Shiloh said insistently, "go ahead. We'll see you tomorrow."

"Fine...see you." The Psyduck gave Chatot a dark look, then huffed and left quickly. Chatot sighed heavily, shook his head in our direction, then hopped off towards the ladder.

"Night, Rin," Shiloh told the Chimecho with a tired smile. "I hope the berries we got were good ones."

"They were just fine. Thank you, Shiloh, and Gale," Rin told us sadly. "Get a good night's sleep." He held out his paws, offering the blue berries. "Take these."

"Thanks," I told him. I put one berry in my satchel and gave the other to Shiloh. Rin waved as we trudged towards our dorm room. Once there, Shiloh collapsed on her bed and groaned loudly. I curled up on my bed, then rolled onto my back and stared blankly at the ceiling. "No supper tonight..." I murmured.

"I know," Shiloh grumbled, and I sat up and checked my satchel. The picture was still there, and Rin had left three Oran berries and two Pecha berries, as well as the rock I'd thrown at the Beedrill. We had a lot of food for tonight counting the berries he'd just given us.

"Hey, check your satchel. Rin left us a lot of food." Shiloh eagerly peeked inside her bag.

"You're right! I have Oran berries, and Pecha, too." She pulled an Oran berry out and bit into it eagerly. "We won't be hungry after all. Who knows when that Chatot will feed us again, though," she added bitterly, looking incensed. "I'm just going to eat one."

"Me too." I tried to eat the Oran berry slowly, but it was gone too soon. "Goodnight. After the expedition, maybe Skuntank and his friends will leave."

"We can only hope," Shiloh snorted. "They're really messing things up. The Guild was great before they showed up." The Squirtle leaned back in her bed and set her satchel off to the side. "Well, goodnight."

"You too," I said, then leaned back down and yawned, closing my eyes. The sound vision I'd gotten earlier played in my mind until I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Chatot really is quite the drama queen, ain't he?**

**This chapter was fun, though. I feel like I'm developing characters more consciously and better than I have in the past. But anywai, hope you enjoyed the chapter! ^^**

**Name Guide:**

**Radar – Zubat**

**Kumi – Koffing**

**Skuntank – No name yet**

**Lysa – Sunflora**

**Phyllo - Croagunk**

**Callo – Bidoof**

**Duthie – Diglett**

**Simeon - Dugtrio**

**Jasper – Psyduck**

**Rin – Chimecho**

**Ran – Loudred**

**Amber - Treecko**

**I feel like I might have made Loudred and Chimecho's names confusing, since there is just a letter's difference between them, so I put their names here again.  
Well summer is coming up, and I hope y'all are having a good year! Good luck on your finals or work or whatever you've got going on. :)**


	15. Expedition

**It's been a while! Enjoy the chapter!  
I don't own Pokémon but it's lots of fun writing, like always!**

**Expedition**

* * *

I woke up with a start as I heard a drawn-out moan from behind me. "Shiloh?" I exclaimed, rolling over to look at her. She was lying on her back, both paws over her stomach. Hesitantly, I crawled towards her and reached out a paw. "Are you...okay? What's wrong?" Shiloh opened her eyes and looked at me, her eyes welling up.

"I'm so hungry," she groaned.

"Oh. Yeah, I hear you," I said, getting to my feet. "How about we go do the morning cheer, then go to Kecleon's market to get apples?"

"Not apples," Shiloh groaned, turning her head away.

"Maybe Gummis, then," I suggested quickly, putting a paw carefully on Shiloh's arm. She looked up at me and I held out my paws. "They usually have some." Shiloh took my paws and I pulled her to her feet. She'd made me feel better yesterday when I'd been upset, and now I wanted to help her get back to her usual self.

"I wish we could skip the morning cheer," she mumbled, rubbing her neck. "I don't feel like cheering." I gave her a little nudge, and we walked out into the main room and saw that the apprentices were already gathered. Ran glanced over and waved.

"You look terrible." Lysa kicked Ran's ankle sharply and he yelped. "I mean, good morning."

"Morning," Shiloh replied glumly, crossing her arms as Chatot stood in front of everyone and straightened up.

"Everyone, I have good news. Tomorrow I'll be announcing the members of the expedition!" There was silence for a few seconds, but then excited shouts and cheers started up. I met Shiloh's eyes and saw her brown eyes light up with excitement, and I felt my stomach flutter a little. That look in her eyes made me think she was perking back up again, and when she glanced at me, I smiled. She grinned cheerfully back. "So as you know, you're expected to work your hardest on explorations and around the Guild." He looked satisfied and raised his wings. "Alright, everyone!" I heard a joint intake of breath as the apprentices prepared for the chant, and took a breath myself to get ready.

"One! Don't shirk work! Two! Run away and pay! Three! Smiles go for miles!"

"Do your best, everyone!" Chatot ordered, folding his wings.

"YEAH!" Everyone shouted, including me and Shiloh, and for the first time since Skuntank and the others had arrived the cheer sounded genuinely enthusiastic.

"Hey, Shiloh," I asked, turning towards the Squirtle, "do you want to go the market now—uh!" Without warning Shiloh wrapped her arms around me and lifted me up a little, squeezing me in a tight hug.

"We might be picked to go on the expedition, Gale!" She laughed brightly and twirled around. "This is great!"

"Excuse me, you two...about the expedition." Chatot gave a cough and Shiloh abruptly stopped twirling. She put me down and I stumbled around for a moment until the dizziness subsided.

"What is it, Chatot?" Shiloh demanded, and Chatot narrowed his eyes and sighed.

"I know you two are eager to go on the expedition, but..."

_I don't like where this is going, _I thought, studying Chatot warily. He seemed unhappy about something but as far as I knew Wigglytuff hadn't yelled at him. "What is it?" I asked bracingly.

"You two shouldn't get your hopes up about being picked," Chatot finally said in a blunt tone. "The incident last night had a lot to do with my decision."

"What?" Shiloh asked hoarsely. "Why not? There was nothing we could do."

"That doesn't sound like Wigglytuff," I said, frowning, and Chatot sighed heavily.

"I told the Guildmaster that you couldn't find any perfect apples and that he'd have to make do with the ones Team Skull gave him for now. He seemed to be fine with that, but he must be furious on the inside."

"How do you know?" Shiloh spoke up angrily. "Did you ask him? He'd probably say we tried our best!"

"And how do _you_ know that?" Chatot asked haughtily, fluffing up his ruff of feathers. Stepping forward until I was right in front of Chatot, I gazed hard at him for a moment.

"Maybe because," I answered sharply, "he seems like a decent Pokémon, even if it's hard to tell what he's thinking." Chatot shook his head, then stared at the ground and traced circles in the dirt with his claws.

"Last night's incident...was traumatic for me," he explained, and I looked at Shiloh. There was an angry, hurt expression on her face. "It'll take a while for me to recover from it. Try to understand." I shook my head slowly, then took Shiloh's arm.

"You sure it's not more traumatic for her?" I asked, and thought I saw Chatot gulp. "Shiloh's wanted to be on a rescue team for a long, long time." Irritated, I turned and tugged Shiloh's arm gently until she started walking with me. Glancing over my shoulder, I didn't see Chatot anywhere, and guessed he must have gone into Wigglytuff's room. Scoffing, I turned and saw Lysa and Callo standing there with twin expressions of anxiety on their faces. Lysa seemed to be hiding something behind her back. "Hey, you two," I said, feeling better upon seeing them. "What's up?"

"Come with us," Callo muttered, then brushed past Shiloh and me, heading towards the dorm rooms. Lysa was still behind us. Shiloh glanced at me, nodded, and I let go of her arm and followed Callo and Lysa down the hall. We passed their rooms and walked straight to ours at the end of the hall. "Go inside, quick." I did, and Shiloh hurried in after me. Lysa stood in front of us and Callo peeked into the hall. "I don't think anyone saw. Croagunk might have seen us, but that's alright."

"What's going on?" Shiloh asked curiously, looking from Lysa to Callo. "Did something happen?"

"Shh...no," Callo answered in a whisper. "Just...well, here y'all go." Lysa showed what she'd been hiding and I widened my eyes in surprise while Shiloh inhaled sharply. There was a Pecha poffin in front of me and an Oran poffin in front of Shiloh, as well as a small apple for each of us. "We saved some of our dinner from last night when y'all didn't show up."

"Everyone...thanks !" Shiloh shook her head in amazement, grinning from ear to ear. Lysa giggled and Callo's face tinged pink.

"We all need to help each other so we have the best chance of getting picked for the expedition," Lysa explained seriously, putting her leaves on her hips. "Some of us might not get to go, but Callo and I wanted to help you."

"Thanks, Lysa, and Callo..." Shiloh murmured gratefully, picking up her poffin, "but Chatot just told us that we probably wouldn't be picked. He's pretty mad at us."

"He has the same feathers to get mad in as he has to get glad in!" Lysa sniffed indignantly, shaking her head, but she was smiling. "He shouldn't have gotten so upset at you. Everyone knows you always try your best."

"Don't give up," Callo encouraged. "I really want to explore with y'all." He beamed, then gestured to the food. "Eat up! You need to get your strength back up."

"Thanks, you two," I said, grinning. Lysa and Callo looked at each other and smiled.

"We'd better get goin'," Callo announced. "Bye for now! And remember, keep trying. You can still get picked to go." He headed off into the hall and Lysa nodded agreeingly, still beaming.

"That's right. I hope we can explore together too." She waved her leaves in farewell and rushed off.

"I feel a lot better now." Shiloh bit into her poffin again. "This is just what I needed!" She laughed around her mouthful of food. "And they're right! I can't let Chatot get to me."

"Yeah," I agreed, picking up my apple. "If Wigglytuff decides we can go, then I don't think Chatot will be able to say anything about it."

"Right?" Shiloh giggled. "We can do it." She reached out her right paw and I took it, and we firmly shook paws. "Hurry up and eat! I want to find a good job."

"Give me a sec," I mumbled after taking a bite of the apple. "I can't eat fast." Shiloh had already finished her apple, though, and I shook my head. "Don't get a stomachache."

"No problem," Shiloh said with a grin. I finished my apple in a couple minutes and started on my Cheri poffin. Shiloh stood and ate her Oran poffin in two bites. "Let's go!" We headed down the hall and towards the job board, and I ate my poffin slowly along the way.

"Hey!" I heard Jasper's yell and turned to see him waddling towards me. He was digging around in his satchel and seemed a little out of breath. "I brought you guys some food."

"Did you run here?" Shiloh asked him, looking sheepish.

"Yeah," Jasper panted. "I have a poffin, and an apple..." Shiloh lowered her voice as Jasper withdrew a Cheri poffin from his satchel.

"Lysa and Callo brought us food just now," she whispered.

"They did?" Jasper sighed. "I'll eat this, then." He yawned, then bit into the poffin. "Glad someone fed you. Does Chatot know?"

"Nope," Shiloh responded with a sly grin. "Lysa and Callo kept it a secret."

"Nice," Jasper chuckled. "You picked any jobs yet?"

"We were just about to," Shiloh told him. "Let's go."

"Do you want to go back to the drenched bluff?" I asked Jasper as we headed over to the bulletin board. There were several jobs tacked onto the board today, as usual, and Jasper looked at the papers for a moment before pulling one off and studying it. "To see if you can find out more from that Chingling?"

"She told me all she could last time," Jasper answered, reading the job paper distractedly. "I still don't remember living there. It doesn't bother me too much. I was just curious, so I went back." He stopped reading the paper and looked up. His expression was guarded. "Sorry I missed the exploration. I could have helped you fight Skuntank and the others."

"They're tough, and they fight dirty," I sighed in irritation. "I don't know if it would have been any easier three-on-three." Jasper shrugged, then handed me the job paper. I stared at it, trying to read the footprints. I felt a little leap of recognition when I made out two words on the top of the page. "'I'm...lost'..." I read haltingly. "So...a Pokémon got lost in Apple Woods?" Jasper nodded and pulled the paper back.

"Yep. The request came from a Charmander who says their friend—an Eevee named Seto—hasn't come back from a walk. There's no spot for a reward."

"Hm...well, that's okay," I said. Shiloh nodded. "Jasper, where did you learn to read footprint runes?" I asked, and the Psyduck folded the job paper and slipped it into his satchel.

"Uh...I can't remember," he answered distantly. "Probably from my parents." He lifted his shoulders. "Anyway, let's go."

"Yeah," Shiloh said in agreement. "It's a long way to Apple Woods, and Seto might be in trouble." The three of us set off at a quick pace, and I started to get a little worried. Hopefully the Eevee had found a place to hide from any aggressive Pokémon. The only way we'd be able to tell was to get there, though. While staring at the horizon, I fumbled in my satchel but couldn't feel any items. I felt a little jolt of panic as I glanced down. I'd reorganized my items this morning. They shouldn't be missing. I felt confused when I realized that my satchel had slipped around and was resting against my back instead of my left side. My right paw looked like it was on my stomach, except that I couldn't see it.

_What's going on? _I pulled my paw up and realized with an alarmed jolt that I'd apparently stuck my hand into my stomach. That wasn't right though. I noticed the little line in the middle of my stomach and touched it, then pulled at it and gasped when I pulled a flap of skin outward. Startled, I let it go and hissed in pain when it slapped back against my stomach.

"What was that?" Shiloh yelled. She and Jasper whipped around to stare at me.

"There's something wrong with my stomach...I think I got hurt." I pointed at my stomach and the two Pokémon sighed.

"You're not hurt," Jasper said, looking relieved and annoyed. I felt my face flush and looked away.

"What is this?" I asked hesitantly, fiddling with the strap of my satchel.

"It's your pouch, Gale," Shiloh explained, looking steadily at me. "All Treecko have them. They store food in them sometimes. Things like berries."

"Ok...it's normal, then," I mumbled, casting my eyes downward.

"Very normal," Jasper said. "So don't worry. Let's keep going." I was too humiliated to say anything more, so I walked the rest of the way in silence, tuning out Shiloh and Jasper's conversation. I didn't feel like adding to it anyway. Researching Treecko and other Pokémon would be a good idea, but I had no idea where to do that. It wasn't like there was a library in the Guild or anywhere in Treasure Town. Shiloh and Jasper had obviously learned somewhere. Did all Pokémon just automatically know about themselves and other species?

"We're here." I came back to attention suddenly as Shiloh loudly spoke up. She turned towards Jasper and gestured for me to come closer. I did, but reluctantly, and met Jasper's eye hesitantly. He held my gaze for a second then glanced across at Shiloh. "You're weak against Bug types, Gale," Shiloh told me, "so bring up the rear and help us out if we need it. Be ready with Pecha berries." I nodded quickly.

"Got it."

"Jasper, if a Pokémon attacks, you rush it from the left, and I'll approach from the right. We'll both use water gun if it can fly, and tackle if it can't."

Making it through the Apple Woods was still pretty difficult, even though I wasn't fighting, and even though Team Skull wasn't bothering us. Shiloh and Jasper got poisoned a couple times, but I managed to get them Pecha berries quickly so they didn't get too hurt. Eventually we stepped out into a clearing, though the perfect apple tree wasn't there. We'd taken a lot of different turns than last time. I just hoped we'd be able to get back out quickly. Shiloh and Jasper looked exhausted and covered in cuts, so I quickly approached them and held out two Oran berries.

"Here," I said, and waited anxiously as they ate the berries. "You feel better?"

"A lot better," Shiloh answered, looking relieved. I got two more Oran berries and offered them, but Jasper and Shiloh shook their heads.

"It's alright," Shiloh answered. "I'm fine for now."

"Me too," Jasper spoke up, but he waddled tiredly over to a tree and leaned against it with a slight groan as he shut his eyes. Shiloh found another tree and sat down as well.

"I can't wait until we can get out of here," she said wearily. "Wonder where Seto is." Without warning I felt a nudge at my back; I jumped in alarm and spun around.

"Sorry!" A little brown Pokémon I suddenly recognized as Eevee gasped. "I think you're looking for me."

"Your name is Seto?" Shiloh asked eagerly, leaping to her feet and approaching the Eevee. Hesitantly, the Pokémon nodded.

"I got lost. I tried to get out on my own, but I got lost and just hid." The Eevee glanced at the sky. "There were so many scary Pokémon."

"You did the right thing," Shiloh said encouragingly, patting Seto on the head, and the Eevee's tail began swishing happily back and forth.

"Do you know the way out of here? I want to get home." She glanced over her shoulder at a medium-sized backpack that had a bulge in it. "I found this here, and I don't want to leave it behind."

"What is it?" Jasper asked, wandering up with a curious expression. "It looks heavy." Seto nodded emphatically.

"It is a little heavy. It's a Pokémon egg." The Eevee shifted her weight, wincing a bit. "I just found it here a while ago, and I looked for its nest, but didn't find it. Then I had to hide because there were lots of Beedrill around."

"A Pokémon egg!" Shiloh exclaimed, and Jasper's eyes widened a bit. "You found it right here?"

"Yep, just there." Seto turned and pointed a paw into the bushes, then turned back. Her bushy tail started wagging again. "Can we go? I don't like it here."

"Yep, we'll go," Shiloh said with a nod. "Don't worry. Stay in front of Gale." Seto glanced around, first at Jasper, then at me. I nodded.

"Hey, Seto," I said.

"Hi!" Seto said eagerly, looking at me with wide eyes. "Thanks for helping me! I'm going to get stronger before I come here again." I smiled, and Shiloh laughed.

"You could be on an exploration team if you wanted to," she remarked.

"Really?" Seto asked eagerly, her eyes widening.

"You sure could," Shiloh said with a smile. "We should go." She turned and marched out of the clearing. Jasper was just behind her and Seto was skipping along right in front of me. Only a few Pokémon, mostly Beedrill, attacked us on the way back, and while Shiloh and Jasper fought I would cover Seto until they had been driven away. I gave them each an Oran berry and then, a few turns later, we had made it out of the woods and were on our way back. I'd carried Seto's satchel on the way back since she looked tired. The Eevee had been right about the egg being heavy, but I didn't complain about it. I was trying to listen to Seto; she talked so fast that it was sometimes hard to understand her.

"So you three rescue Pokémon all the time?" Seto asked loudly, her ears twitching rapidly. I'd moved up and was walking alongside her now.

"You think so?" Jasper said with a small laugh.

"How many adventures have you gone on?" Seto queried.

"I don't know..." Jasper answered. "A lot."

"You're all the best!" Seto continued. "You could rescue all the Pokémon in the world!"

"We're glad we could help," Shiloh said with a smile at Jasper. "It's good you didn't get hurt."

"Yeah," Seto agreed with a wide-eyed look at me. "I might be an explorer someday, but for now I want to train more." The Eevee suddenly bounded ahead as Treasure Town came into view. "I see my friend!" She called back to us excitedly, and I ran quickly to catch up with her. Shiloh made it there first, then me, and finally Jasper. Seto was bounding around a Charmander with light red skin. I frowned, thinking. If Charmander were like Treecko, maybe this Charmander's subdued skin tone mean she was a female. The Charmander had a gray half-cloak around her shoulders that just barely reached her elbows.

"Seto!" The Charmander said in a scolding tone, but her eyes looked worried. "Why did you go off like that? I had no idea where you were!" The Charmander sighed heavily and crossed her arms. "You're usually such a good girl." Seto lowered her ears and cringed a little.

"I'm sorry," she squeaked quietly. "I thought the forest looked nice, but it was scary." The Charmander sighed again.

"That's why we should have gone together! But you're alright." She ruffled Seto's fur and looked up at Shiloh for the first time, then Jasper and me. "You three found her? Thank you. I can't say how grateful I am."

"That's alright," Jasper said. "She didn't get hurt."

"Yeah..." Seto mumbled, raising her long ears a little. "And I have something to give them to say thanks!"

"Really?" The Charmander asked, looking puzzled. "What is it?" Seto pointed to me and I set the backpack she'd been wearing down and opened it. The egg was a creamy white color with a light brown stripe going across the middle. "You can't give them that! Someone is looking for it." Seto's ears pinned to her head again and she stared up at Charmander with widened eyes.

"But I don't have anything else."

"She said she found the egg in the apple woods," Jasper explained "We looked on the way back but didn't see any nests it could have fallen out of."

"It has a brown stripe," Shiloh mentioned, "and that kind of reminds me of a Sentret, but I don't think there are any in those woods."

"I don't know either," the Charmander muttered, frowning. Seto sniffed a little and nosed the egg towards me.

"Chansey can take care of the egg," she mumbled. "After that, maybe you can find its parents."

"I'll take it to her," I offered, and picked the egg up carefully. "You two wait for me at the Guild," I told Jasper and Shiloh, then looked down at the Eevee. "Thanks," I told her with a smile. "Don't worry about giving us anything else. You're safe and that's the most important thing."

"Really?" Seto asked, perking up her ears. I nodded and Shiloh spoke up as she patted Seto gently on the head.

"Yep. Don't go to apple woods again, though. It's not the best place to explore when you're starting out."

"Thank you so much," the Charmander said gratefully, looking at each of us. "And I didn't tell you my name. It's Cinder."

"Cinder?" I repeated, the name making me feel a tickle of familiarity, but I shrugged it off. "My name's Gale."

"I'm Shiloh. It's nice to meet you." Shiloh smiled and stepped towards Seto, patting the little Pokémon on her head. "You're just so cute!" Seto giggled and Jasper shrugged.

"Jasper," he said. "See you around sometime maybe." Cinder waved and tugged lightly on Seto's tail.

"Yeah!" Seto said happily. "Bye for now!" Seto looked back with a smile and wave before darting off after Cinder.

"See you guys in a bit," I said, then headed off towards town towards Chansey's house. The pink Pokémon gave me a friendly smile as I approached, then smiled brightly.

"That's a Pidgey egg!" She exclaimed, both paws to her face. I moved closer to her, held the egg out, and she gently took it in both paws. "Where did you find it?" Chansey turned and waddled back to the building that looked like her, then set the egg down in a nest of straw.

"It was in the apple woods," I answered. "An Eevee found it and gave it to us." Chansey folded her arms as she walked back to me.

"There are no Pidgey or Pidgeotto flocks there. It must have been lost."

"Should we try to find its parents when it hatches?" I wondered, looking back at the egg. Chansey sighed.

"Well, that's a little hard..." She murmured. "You could try, but the baby won't remember anything about where it came from." Her frown became a little smile. "Don't worry, though. I'll take care of the egg for you and call you when it hatches. I think it might be hatched by the time you and Shiloh get back from the expedition!"

"Oh, well...Shiloh and I might not get to go," I explained. "Chatot told us that."

"Well, I don't think that's true!" Chansey said happily, patting me on the back as I turned to leave. "You and Shiloh are great at exploring!"

"Thanks," I called back to Chansey. "I'll tell Shiloh that. See you later!"

"Bye!" The pink Pokémon called after me.  
_

Chatot hopped out of Wigglytuff's room, and the Guildmaster followed closely behind him, then stood off to the side as Chatot held up a piece of paper in his wings. I glanced to the side at Callo and Lysa, and they looked nervously back at me. Lysa was shivering, both of her petals clutched to her face, while Callo was crouched on the ground, his face tense. Chimecho was waving his tail back and forth, which sent a chiming through the air, and Yabi was clicking his pincers. Phyllo was standing next to Yabi, while Duthie and Simeon were nowhere to be seen; they might be hiding underground somewhere. I glanced at the ground and wondered if they were still listening for Chatot's announcement, or if they were busy. Ran finally broke the silence when Chatot didn't say anything.

"Well? Come ON!" He yelled impatiently, and Chatot jumped in surprise, as did Callo and Lysa. "Who's going on the expedition?"

"Calm down!" Chatot yelped. "I'll announce the expedition members now." I looked around and saw Skuntank, Radar and Kumi waiting nearby. Skuntank glanced over, and I swore a smirk came over his face. Clenching my jaw, I turned back and listened hard to Chatot. "The first member is...hm? Interesting! The first member is Callo, and then Lysa." Lysa squeaked happily, then grabbed Callo and tugged him up to the front of the group.

"We did it!" She cheered, patting Callo on the back. "Good job!"

"I...I can't believe it," the Bidoof gasped excitedly.

"Hey, hey...what do you mean, 'interesting'?" Yabi asked Chatot. "He's been working hard." Chatot cleared his throat.

"Well, yes...anyway, the next members are Yabi, Rin, Duthie, and Ran."

"AW YEAH!" Ran hollered triumphantly, raising a fist into the air.

"Wahoo!" A voice came from beneath me and I jumped, then lost my balance as Duthie suddenly burst from the ground right under my feet.

"Whoa!" I yelled, falling clumsily to the side.

"Gale?!" Duthie yelped. "Sorry! But I did it! I got in!" He tunneled to the front of the group, and I stood back up, brushing dirt off of my knees.

"It's okay," I laughed. Chatot chuckled hesitantly, glancing around at everyone.

"Well, that's it! Those are all the members who will go on the expedition!" I stared at Chatot, then sighed and looked at the floor, then over at Shiloh. Her head was lowered and she had a tight frown on her face. Simeon and Phyllo glanced at each other. Phyllo shrugged, and Simeon tunneled closer to Duthie.

"Good for you, son," he told the Diglett proudly. "Have a great time on the exploration. Tell me all about it when you get back."

"Okay, dad, I will!" Duthie agreed brightly. "But you probably already know about the lake, huh?"

"Um...er...of course I do!" Simeon answered, sounding a little flustered.

"I thought so, dad!"

"Hold on...what's this?" Chatot was squinting closely at the paper he held. "There seem to be more names here..." He muttered something to himself, then spoke up again. "Ah, I see. Simeon and Phyllo are also coming on the expedition, as well as Shiloh and Gale." I jumped in surprise as Chatot finished reading the paper. "Wait, but...that means..." Chatot dropped the paper as he whipped around to face Wigglytuff, who was smiling dreamily. "Guildmaster, does this mean...everyone can go on the expedition?!"

"Of course!" Wigglytuff answered. "It wouldn't be any fun if we didn't all go!"

"...Fun?" I heard Skuntank mutter from off to the side.

"But we can't all just leave!" Chatot protested. "Who will watch the Guild?" Wigglytuff patted Chatot's shoulders and smiled.

"We'll be sure to lock everything up. It'll be fine!"

"Guildmaster...then what was the point of studying the candidates?" Chatot groaned, but faced everyone again and took a breath. "Well, there you have it. This will be a long expedition, likely several days' worth of traveling, so please take a proper amount of time to gather supplies. When you're ready to go, come back here and then we will leave. That is all."

"That's great!" Shiloh cried loudly, waving her arms. "Let's get ready, you two!" She put her right arm around my neck and the other around Jasper's.

"Hold on!" Chatot held up a wing. "This is a Guild-only expedition, so outside members may not go."

"You serious?" Shiloh asked, and Jasper stepped away and held up his paws.

"It's okay," he said. "The expedition sounds fun, but I need to train more. It sounds like the trip will be rough." He crossed his arms and glanced at the ceiling. "Besides, someone should be in town when that egg hatches. I can do that."

"You will?" I asked, surprised, wondering why he'd want to.

"Sure," Jasper answered. "You have a good time on the expedition." He grinned. "Tell me what it was like! I'll definitely go on the next one."

"Okay! Thanks, Jasper! Thanks a bunch!" Shiloh smiled gratefully at him.

"Yeah, yeah...go get ready." Jasper waved his paws in a shooing motion, then set off for the ladder. "Everyone's already gone and I want to go home." I noticed for the first time that the floor was empty except for Chatot and Wigglytuff.

"Whoa," I said. "You're right." Shiloh trailed after Jasper and I hurried along after her, hopping onto the ladder when they'd both climbed it. Shiloh and I stopped in front of the Kecleon Market and waved to Jasper as he headed towards his home.

"See you in a few days!" Shiloh called, and Jasper waved back.

"Later!" He called. Shiloh turned to me, her eyes wide. She clasped her paws and laughed.

"I'm so excited!" She exclaimed. "We'd better be sure to look at everything so we can tell Jasper later! I can't believe we got to go!"

"I guess Wigglytuff wasn't mad at us after all," I wondered.

"Ah, I don't mind about that anymore." Shiloh approached Leon and Ezra. "Guess what?" She asked them eagerly, and they nodded.

"We heard you got picked," Leon said with a chuckle. "You have fun and be careful!"

"Tell us all about what you see, too," Ezra added.

"We will," Shiloh promised, then turned to me. "Help me pick stuff out."

"What should we take?" I asked, ticking off on my fingers. "Oran berries, Pecha berries, and apples...what else?"

"Probably Cheri berries, and a couple gummis, just in case," Shiloh said thoughtfully. "I think we'll be fine with those things. You should still wear your Pecha scarf just in case, and I'll wear mine." She suddenly laughed again, then beamed at me. "I can't wait!"

* * *

**Wow that was a long chapter! I felt like I ended it at a funny spot, but maybe not. Next time the Guild finally gets into the expedition! :D**

**One more thing, whether anyone was wondering or not: I think I'm going to leave the max elixir item out of the story. That was put in because in all the Pokémon games, there's a limited number of times the Pokémon can use their moves. In the series, I think that Pokémon can use their moves as many times as they like as long as they're not too tired or hurt.**


End file.
